Aftermath
by Kori123
Summary: It's the end of the world.  Supplies are hard to come by.  We fight for our lives everyday.  There's only five of us left.  Or are there?  FINISHED! :D
1. Prologue

The sky became a beautiful mix of pinks and purples as the sun rose on the new day. A destroyed city was silhouetted by the new light. There was the sound of crunching broken glass as a figure made his way over the rubble. His right hand hovered over his weapon as he warily searched over the destroyed building, seeming to be looking for something. After a few moments he looked back from where he had come and frowned, "come on, Rin! Why do you have to be so slow..." He groaned.

She stumbled a little, feet crunching over the glass and rubble with care. Rin narrowed her eyes as she panted and stepped close to him. "I'm not slow," the blond haired girl said glancing back. "I'm just being cautious," she said studying the landscape. Nothing but destroyed buildings and bones from people or animals, it was hard to tell. "We should head back," she said turning to him. Her shadow casting an eerie shape on the ground as she gripped her twin shot guns and held them close. "I hate being out here without the others."

The blonde boy sighed, crossing his arms across his chest, "since when did you become a chicken... We're not the weak little kids we used to be, you know... I'm sure we'll be able to handle anything that comes our way out here. Even a Hunter or two." The boy laughed.

"I'm not a chicken," she huffed, offended at the thought. "I just would rather not have anything happen out here." She said flipping her hair back and walking on ahead of her brother. "Come on then. Let's just finish scouting so we can get back to the base." She said building up her courage. No, he was right, she wasn't one to be scared. Something about the way the attacks had been patterned lately... They were becoming more fierce. Branching out. Searching. If a Hunter did come out, there was no way the two would be able to take it down. Not easily.

"Alright, alright..." he rolled his eyes, resting his gun on his shoulder. He knew there wasn't much to find out here, not anymore. Everything had either been destroyed with the city, or had already been taken back home. The small group of survivors were running low on supplies. It was only a matter of time before they had to move. This fact caused the older members of their little family much stress and anxiety. The boy had even heard the leader of the group say that he was afraid for the twins, because they were the 'weakest'... That's what this whole adventure was about. The blond boy felt that he needed to prove the older man wrong... Had to prove that he and his sister could defend themselves in the case of an attack.

"Now who's the slow one Len?" Rin called back to her brother, a good couple yards away by now. "Stop day dreaming and get over here. This was your idea," she pointed out as she turned and kept going, kicking empty cans and scorched cardboard out of her way. At least these new boots were more helpful than her originals. She frowned, spacing out as she kicked on piece of blackened paper. Watching the pieces shatter and blow into a breeze that had picked-up. She tilted her head as she stopped by one little spot and knelt down. Some kind of red object was half buried in the dirt. It was shiny and new looking compared to the rest of the trash that littered the area. She carefully reached out and rubbed a finger over it. "Hm?"

"What'd you find?" The boy asked as he nimbly climbed over the mountains of destruction and rubble to join his sister. "Anything of use?" He looked down and what she was looking at.

"Looks like a ball or something," she said stroking it some more. "Or...a button...?" She suggested pressing down on it. Sure enough, the red circular object clicked into the ground. There was a loud pop-noise as a tremor worked it's way around them. She gasped and jumped back not quite sure what to expect, but soon, everything was deadly still like before.

The boy looked around, "wh-what was that?" He gasped, looking to his sister, his eyes frightened and shocked. His grasp tightened on his weapon as he glanced around, the stillness around them making him nervous.

"Not sure," she said looking around also, though she wasn't as freaked out as he was. Or was she? Her knuckles were white where she tightened her hands on the guns. "Probably an old... Trap or something. It doesn't work anymore," she said turning every which way. "See?" She wasn't so sure herself, but she couldn't let down her baby brother.

Len glanced back down at the button. Why would there be a random trap like that in the middle of this place? What would it be protecting and why wasn't it working now? Then a more important question crossed his mind... What if that noise had alerted the Hunters to their position? The boy turned to his sister, "I...think it's about time for us to head back."

Rin opened her mouth to say something when a terrifying sound roared through the air. Like hundreds of machines scraping against one another. Her eyes went wide as she felt the ground shake. She nodded, "y...yeah! Good idea," she said quickly turning and making a run back for the base. The boy turned and ran after her, hoping they got to the base before the machines found them. The confidence he had before was totally gone. He knew now they wouldn't be able to defend themselves if they got attacked by the Hunters.

"This was your worst idea yet!" Rin screamed at her brother as she ran some more, trying to get hair out of her eyes. There was a loud angry noise somewhere behind them but she was too afraid to actually look back. "You couldn't have just let Kaito say what he wanted to? You had to try and prove him wro-!" She yelped before falling over.

Len stopped and ran back to his sister, "why are you so clumsy?" He yelled as he attempted to pull her back to her feet so the two could get out of there.

"I'm not clumsy!" She snapped right away getting up a second before kneeling back down. "I think I stepped on something." She whined as the ground shook some more. Another ear piercing sound roared through the air as the creature finally appeared.

It was human-shaped, though over elongated. It's limbs were stretched making it at least seven feet tall, if not taller. It gazed down at the two them, opened its jaws and let out another roar, claws extended and ready to rip them to shreds. Len's blue eyes narrowed as he jumped between the monster and his sister. He aimed is weapon at the beast's head, "can you get out of here?" He called back, keeping his eyes on the beast

"Not without you I can't!" She shouted taking her weapons and aiming it at the beast as it clanked it's way over.

Len watched the creature as it stalked toward the twins. Dark black hair hung down from it's head, in low pigtails, it's eyes the typical red. Robo-Loids were failed creations, made originally to entertain, now all of the remaining beasts were malfunctioning, their only purpose now was to destroy anything that moved, including themselves. At least it wasn't a Hunter.

"Len, you idiot, go back to the base," Rin shouted back to her brother when the creature was getting closer.

"Ladies first!" He growled back to his sister, "you get out of here, I'll follow!"

"I'm the older one here, you're suppose to listen to me!" She pointed out, eyes getting wide when the creature towered above them. She let out a single shot from one of her guns and it hit the creature square on the shoulder. It flinched but the shot seemed to just bounce off. A lot of the Robo-Loids were tough to take down nowadays. Evolution, Kaito had called it.

"You think I care?" Len glared at her before unloading his own automatic weapon on the monster. "I told you to get out of here!" The creature made a grinding noise, a laugh, as it looked down at the two. None of the shots seemed to do anything as it reached out and let a clawed hand go around Len as through it was going to grab him. It didn't make it that far.

"How about you both get the hell out of here!" Another voice shouted as a loud blast bounced off the creature, it's arm falling off. Not too far away was a blue haired man with a fairly large blaster gun, smoking from the attack. The Robo-Loid screeched angrily as it looked over at him, forgetting the twins altogether.

Len blinked a few times, "K...Kaito…?" He muttered.

"Rin, Len! Let's go!" A higher pitched voice rang out, a light blue haired girl stood a few yards from them, cautiously watching the beast, but glancing toward the twins, urging them to hurry to her.

"R…right!" Rin said looking over at the blue haired girl, forcing herself up. "Len, come on," she said putting one of her guns back in it's holster so she could grab her brother's hand and run over to the other, flinching now and again.

"Miku, get them out of here!" Kaito called as he begun powering up his blaster once more. The beast took a few angry steps toward him but he seemed ready.

Len ran with his twin to the girls side. Once they were there, she took their hands and began running from the scene, glancing back every few steps to be sure that the Robo-Loid hadn't turned and decided to chase after the fleeing group.

There were a few more blasts to be heard along with more grinding gear noises. Then everything was silent. "Is Kaito okay?" Rin asked looking over at where they had been before. A cloud of smoke had lifted making it impossible to see what was going on. She winced turning back to look up ahead where their base was. "Almost there," she told herself.

Miku stopped once they reached the entrance of the base, "You two go inside, don't leave." She commanded, before turning and running back to where they had left the blue haired man, loading her large shotgun type weapon as she ran. Len was pale, his eyes wide in fear. It was true that everyday was scary... but times like this where one of their family was in danger... these times were the worst.

"Len?" Rin urged, tugging him for the entrance. She was pale too, terrified at the thought of losing one of their own, but she had to be strong for him. She went for the door that dipped down to their underground shelter, a large dome that would break off into six separate rooms. Home sweet home.

Kaito was covering his mouth and nose with a cloth as he waited to see what the creature was doing. The smoke made it impossible to see anything. "Kaito! Are you alright?" Miku called as she hit the wreckage, coughing slightly as she looked around in the darkness, aware of all sounds and movement in the smoke and dust.

"I'm fine," he coughed looking over at Miku just long enough before looking back where the creature had been. As the darkness cleared, he relaxed and stood back up straight. "It's finished," he said looking at the Robo-Loid laying on the ground in several large pieces.

Miku sighed a breath of relief, relaxing. "Oh, thank goodness..." She muttered as she looked down at the remnants of the monster. It didn't look much like a monster anymore. Miku's eyes narrowed in pity as she looked down at the creatures head. It looked like a little girl, black pigtails tied with big, torn bows.

"Miku," Kaito said softly, a somewhat sad look on his face, "don't look at it." He said mumbled. It was hard enough looking at them when they were alive. When they were dead like this... It made him think of what they would look like if they were... He shook his head at the thought. "Let's go back to the base."

Miku nodded, resting her weapon on her shoulder. She gave the body one last look before following after Kaito, back to their home. "What the hell were you two thinking?" A scream was heard from the underground base as the two approached.

Miku laughed weakly as she heard it, "Meiko must be at them..."

"She beat me to it," Kaito muttered shaking his head as he pushed open the door and went in. Rin had her eyes narrowed as she looked away, staring down at the floor trying not to cry or anything. She hated when they screamed, especially at her. "Meiko," Kaito said looking at the twins, "inside voice."

Meiko glared at the two who entered, "these two morons don't deserve 'inside-voices'," she sneered before glaring back at Rin, and Len who was looking away from her face, taking his punishment. "They could have gotten themselves, or you two, killed!" The brunette growled at them. Miku placed her gun down and hummed a tune as she made her way to the food pantry. Just another day.

"I know that," Kaito said glowering at the older woman, "and they're going to be punished by doing all the chores for the next week. But if you're any louder, the Robo-Loids might hear you and the last thing we need is them finding our hide out."

Meiko glared at Kaito but stopped, seating herself next to the fire in the middle of the main room. Miku smiled slightly at the twins as she came back into the room with some cans of food, "don't worry too much. She's mostly annoyed with the fact that we woke her up early when we went out to find you." The blue haired girl giggled as she began opening the first can.

"She is right though," Kaito said turning his attention back at the twins, "you could have gotten yourselves killed. Rin, you're suppose to be the older one, you're suppose to watch over your brother. And Len, I know you know better than to go out on your own. The Robo-Loids don't go down without a blaster and neither of you can use one yet."

"I just wanted to prove to you that we were strong enough to defend ourselves when we moved..." Len muttered. "I'm tired of being a weakling that everyone else has to protect."

"You're still a kid," Kaito said shaking his head, "you'll get stronger one day, but for now you just need to do as your told."

"I'm going to my room," Rin said quickly, half limping over to her room. The six rooms were each labeled with the names of the group. There was Miku, Meiko, Kaito, Len and Rin, along with the pantry. The twins use to share a room and the pantry had been a bedroom also in the past. Things changed a few months back...

"Well with Gakupo and Luka gone we're short handed! You've noticed that it's been getting harder to defeat those things." Len stated. "The last thing this group needs is two defenseless kids!"

"You're right, the last thing this group needs is two defenseless kids," Kaito said shaking his head, somewhat annoyed by Len's attitude. First they sneak off, they almost get themselves killed, now he was trying to start something? "Len, just go to your room."

Len glared up at Kaito but didn't say a word. He stood and stormed off to his room. Miku silently opened another can as the boy left. Meiko grumbled something about how teenage boys were more trouble then they were worth.

Kaito sighed as he walked over to their 'weapons' wall, setting the blaster on it's prop. "We have to do something about those two," he said to no one in particular. "They've got it in their head that they're useless and need to go out and do stupid stuff like this."

"They're just teenagers, Kaito," Miku laughed as she poured the contents into a small charred pan. "They'll grow out of this little funk they're going through."

He nodded, turning around so he could look back at the others. It took him a minute but he laughed shortly after, "did you just say funk?" He asked with a weak smile, anything to lighten the mood.

Miku blinked a few times as she noticed what she had said. She pouted at her friend, "don't judge me and my terminology." She stuck out her tongue and then laughed. Meiko rolled her eyes as she poked at the fire with a stick.

"I guess you're right though," he said going over and sitting down by the fire. "They are still kids... It can't be easy growing up in a place like this but it's not like we have a choice. All we can do is keep surviving." He slowly let any remain of a smile fade as he watched the flames dance. "Luka and Gakupo... We still don't know where they are."

Miku frowned as she placed a pot on top of the fire, adding a bunch of cans to it and stirring slowly, "I'm sure they're out there. Somewhere. They were both so strong, I'm sure they aren't..." She trailed off as she continued to stir.

"Yeah," Kaito said right away, trying hard not to think of it. The images of the broken Robo-Loids flashed through his mind. He had to change the subject, "what...are you making for breakfast?"

Miku looked thoughtful for a moment, "I'm not entirely sure. I just mixed a few cans of soup we had left. I threw in some vegetables we had too, and a can of Chili. I know I added that in for the meat." She nodded as she stirred her concoction.

"Sounds good," he said with a scoff. Miku had become quiet the cook in the last couple months. They were running low on supplies, so anything they could mix into a bowl and eat was good enough. Not that anyone ever complained. It was usually tasty. "There aren't any canned oranges left are there?"

Miku glanced up at the twins' rooms. She then shot Kaito a look before putting a finger to her lips, hissing a "Shhh..." She glanced back at the entrances of the rooms before whispering, "we have one left, that I've hidden away for their birthday." She smiled then began stirring again.

"Oh," he said nodding, "I was going to suggest using it to cheer them up, but they can wait." He said with another smile, "thank you Miku. You really are their big sister aren't you?"

Miku grinned at Kaito, then went back to her work, "it feels like this whole ordeal ripped away their childhood and their happiness. I want to at least try to make things a little easier for them. They are just kids after all, and they deserve to smile every once in a while."

Kaito nodded, letting out a dragged sigh as he rubbed his temples, watching the fire once more. "Yes, but so should you. I know it can't be any easier on you. Forcing you to learn these things," he shook his head, "it's not fair."

Miku laughed, "it may be hard, but I'm still happy, and it's fun to learn new things you know." She giggled again as she gently lifted the pot away from the fire, still stirring away. Meiko had fallen back asleep next to the warm fire by then, she really wasn't much of a morning person.

"New things or not, it's not right for us to push things on you like this." He shook his head again then stood, "should I go get the twins?"

"You're not forcing anything on me, I chose to do everything I've done. And I'm glad I did, I mean... who would cook for everyone if I didn't? Meiko?" She laughed at the thought imagining Meiko getting frustrated while trying to open one of the cans that held the group's food.

"I guess that's a good point," he said as he went for the bedrooms, imagining what it'd be like if Meiko, or even he, tried to cook their meals. "Len," he said knocking on the boys door, then over to his sister, "Rin," he knocked, "come on. Breakfast is ready."

There was silence behind Len's door, but after a few moments he slowly opened it and came out of his room. It was clear on his face he was still upset, but he knew that just because he was angry didn't mean he should miss a meal. Food was becoming scarce, and he probably would regret not eating later if he didn't. "Thank you," Kaito said, obviously still annoyed as well. He walked back to the fire, kneeling and gently shaking Meiko. "Meiko, breakfast time." He said softly. Rin stumbled out of her room shortly after, changed into a new set of clothes. They only had a few pairs so she tried to wash what she could whenever she got the chance.

Meiko grumbled something as she woke up. She glared at Kaito for a moment but sighed and shrugged, "I'll have to catch up on my lost sleep tonight then..." She mumbled.

Miku filled a make shift bowl with the mixture and handed it to Meiko, "dig in," she smiled, then began filling another bowl for the next person.

"You? Sleep? During the night time?" Kaito smirked teasingly as he looked over at the twins. "You two okay?" He asked as Rin sat down, trying not to make any eye contact with her 'siblings'. "No injuries from this mornings idiocy?"

"I stepped on a piece of glass," Rin said simply, wrapping her arms around herself trying to warm up by the fire.

Miku handed Len a bowl then looked to Rin, her eyes full of concern, "are you alright? Do you want me to take a look?" She asked.

"It's fine," Rin said shaking her head, "I know how to wrap my own wounds." By now, they all should be use to it.

Kaito sighed and shook his own head, "you two..." He trailed off leaving it at that trying not to start another argument. "This smells good Miku."

Miku blinked and smiled at Kaito, "I hope it tastes good too, I've never mixed this many of different things together." Len silently sipped his soup, watching the fire.

"I'm sure it's fine," he said as he leaned back and waiting. "We should probably do some scouting later today. Find out where that Robo-Loid was hiding."

"It set a trap," Rin said sternly, frowning at the flames. "Robo-Loids aren't that smart though, right? Maybe a Hunter?" At this point she was mostly mumbling to herself.

Meiko looked to Rin as Miku poured Kaito a bowl. "A trap?" She said raising an eyebrow, "what did it look like?"

Rin made a circle shape with her hands, "it was little and circle and red. Like a button. When I pushed it, though, it made like...an earthquake. A small one. Then the Robo-Loid came."

Kaito looked over at them somewhat surprised, "what do you mean?"

Miku hesitated before she poured herself a serving, "A button that causes tremors? I've never seen or heard of anything like that..."

Meiko thought for a moment, "I don't think either of them, the Robo-Loids or the Hunters would be able to set anything like that up..."

"I didn't think so either," Rin said putting her hands back down, "but what else could it be?" She asked before sipping at her soup also. It wasn't half bad. An odd texture maybe, but not bad.

"Robo-Loids and Hunters are mindless creatures," Kaito muttered, "they wouldn't be able to come up with something like this. There aren't any other Vocaloids either... Unless it's Gakupo and Luka, which I doubt."

Miku frowned, "You think there might be someone else alive out there?" She asked.

Meiko's eyes narrowed, "Possibly... we can't be the only ones who survived... But why would they set up a trap like that? What was it meant for?"

"Not sure," Kaito said standing up and making his way over to the weapons. "Something like this shouldn't be ignored though. I'm going to go investigating. I'll try and do some shopping while I'm out."

"We'll go too," Rin said, setting her bowl aside before standing.

"No," Kaito said right away. "You're both grounded remember?"

"No way! That's not fair!" Rin screeched glaring over at the older man. "Len and I found it, we should be the ones to check it out! You don't even know where it was," she said crossing her arms stubbornly.

Miku stood, "She's right Kaito. You don't have any idea where this trap is. And there's no way you're going out there alone."

Meiko ate the rest of her meal and glanced at Kaito, "they're not going to let you go alone. Give me a minute, and I'll go with you ." She stood up, setting her bowl aside for the twins' to clean later. Kaito nodded and went back over to their weapon wall, looking over all the choices. Something big and powerful would be best, but much harder to carry. Plus, he had to leave the others with something.

Len hesitated before setting his bowl down also, crossed his arms watching Kaito carefully. Miku smiled, "We'll be alright. You look out for each other while you're out there okay?"

Len then spoke up, "Yeah... We want both of you back in one piece."

"Oh, now we're getting scolded by the boy who ran off and almost got himself killed?" Meiko commented as she vanished into her room to gather her things.

"You'll get both of us back," Kaito assured going for the door, stopping a moment before looking back at Len. "You have to be the man until I get back though, I'm counting on you," he said smirking, "but don't think you're off the hook. Miku is still in charge and you two are still grounded."

"Not fair," Rin muttered annoyed as she ate more of her soup-stuff.

"When you're older, things still won't be fair," Meiko said coming out of the room and grabbing her gun. She looked over at Kaito, nodded and pushed passed him to go outside. Still not a morning person, but killing a few Hunters or Robo-Loids would make her feel a little better.

"We'll be back," Kaito nodded, already dreading it all. "Behave yourselves." He really just wanted to relax. After a busy and hectic morning like this one, all he wanted to do was sit back and relax. Instead, it was off to work to check out some new threat. Just another day…


	2. One

Meiko climbed to the top of a pile of rubble to get a better look around. With all the attacks lately they had to take extra precautions in moving around. She sighed as she scanned the destroyed city around them. Long ago she had had the hope that someone would come to take them from this war zone... Take them somewhere safer... But now it was clear to see, with more attacks everyday, that there was no one out there to save them. And she highly doubted that there would be anywhere else to go.

Kaito was silent for a long time, looking over everything. They'd been gone a few hours now, but had found nothing more than broken buildings and scorched cardboard like usual. He knelt down, moving the dirt around lightly, looking underneath it where the stone was. He frowned and shook his head standing back up. "Nothing," he muttered glancing back at Meiko, "this isn't working. It's still bare... We need to figure something out." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "It's getting too difficult and the younger ones can't keep doing this. We've had too many close calls already."

Meiko looked to Kaito, "You're right. We need to get out of this area, it's far too dangerous here." Meiko kneeled on her small mountain. "We're also running out of supplies and the stores in this area are all empty. We'd have to go out farther to go check the stores on the outer edge of the city."

"The only problem with that," Kaito said taking a sharp breath, "is that it's dangerous to go passed the outer gates. We don't know what's out there. We've had the short end of the stick with the ones in this area. The further we go, the worse they'll be." He shook his head, "and the others are still in training. We wouldn't stand a chance."

"Yeah but there's nothing much we can do anymore Kaito!" Meiko growled, "we're running out of food and clean water. If we don't move soon we're going to starve. Or maybe even worse. Len and Rin already have it in their thick skulls that they need to be fighting and so far that's gotten us no where."

"I know that. You think I haven't thought about that Meiko? I know we're running out of time but there's not much else we can do is there? If we stay here, we starve. If we leave, we could be killed. Either way, we lose." Kaito closed his eyes a moment trying to calm himself. He never use to get angry. Not like this anyway. Things were just hard now and he had to keep up the strong act. "We need to find another option."

"You should know that there is no other option!" Meiko yelled, "at least we have more of a chance if we go out and search! If we just sit here we're definitely going to starve."

He was quiet for a while after that, just kind of staring out, looking passed the gates. The buildings were falling apart. They weren't going to make it this way. Not now. Not ever. "Fine. We can do a scouting mission. We can see how far it is to the next city. When we figure it out, we'll come back for the others and move."

Meiko smiled, "Sounds like a plan to me." She stood and put her free hand on her hip. "So which way should we head? Do you remember any cities near this one?"

"There use to be one up north. I'm not sure if it's still there but it's a start," he said going back for the base. "Come on. We'll rest up a bit and then we'll go." He said resting his own gun on his shoulder. "That work for you?"

"Yeah that's fine by me." Meiko said, a grin on her face. She'd always been one who said that the group should take action, not just live day by day. Now things were actually in motion.

"Don't give me that," he said narrowing his eyes a bit in defeat. She always got her way. Always. "As for what to do about supplies. I think that one store with the green roof still had some things. We need some more alcohol for the fire tonight."

Meiko nodded. Back in the beginning of this ordeal she had been reluctant to use the liquid to fuel every night's fire. She had always had a love for alcoholic drinks, but now she had to give that up. There was hardly enough for their fires, let alone extra for her to drink. Perhaps the stores in other cities would have more than enough... "Ahh... that'd be nice..." She muttered in a daze, just imagining it.

"Don't even think about it," Kaito said as he spotted the store. He was cautious, looking around before slipping through the doors, pushing around fallen shelves and broken bottles. Everything useful was already gone though. Nothing but an empty shell. "Here we go," he said finding one survivor. "It's cracked on the side but it'll have to do." He said looking back.

Meiko glanced around, "Yeah... looks like that's it... This store's out like all the others now..." She sighed. It was a good thing they were moving now... Hopefully they'd have enough supplies to get to where they were going.

* * *

Rin whined a little looking at their pathetic fire. It had been two days now, but it felt like forever. The older Vocaloids were gone by now. Scouting and leaving the others behind. They told them to stay in doors, that there were enough supplies to last them. In they stayed inside, they would be safe in the well hidden base. The ones left behind went out only once or twice, when absolutely necessary and even that was risky. "We're almost out," she said tapping the alcohol bottle, down it it's last swig.

Miku sighed, "If those two don't come back soon we're going to have to go searching the outer city for supplies..." The three of them were doing alright for themselves so far. Keeping the fire going, making small ration meals. The girls were gathered around the fire now, while Len stayed in his room. He was always working on things.

"But if they didn't come back...wouldn't that mean it's dangerous to go out?" Rin asked shaking her head. "I hate sitting around doing nothing." She was about to say something else, but there wasn't time as a knock came to the door. A moment later, in came Kaito. Tired looking but seeming unharmed. "Kaito!" Rin shouted jumping up, "you're back!"

Miku stood up a smile spreading across her face, "You're okay! Oh thank goodness!"

Kaito nodded looking around at them. "We will begin moving soon." He said in a hushed voice, "before we go we will train you. Hand to hand. It will be easier that way to get across. If a weapon falls, you'll have to protect yourselves somehow."

Meiko entered the small shelter then, she took a breath and sat next to the diminishing fire. "Hand to hand? What good will that do against the hunters?" Len asked, stepping out of his room when he thought he heard the door open.

Kaito ignored him, staring at Miku a second then shook his head nodding at Rin. "First," he said motioning her to follow him on his way out.

Rin just kind of stared, confused at first then nodded, "alright... I guess." She said unclipping her weapons and setting them aside. "I don't know anything about hand to hand combat though."

"It will be fine," Kaito nodded, motioning her to follow him out.

"It'll be dark soon though," Rin muttered, hesitating but stood up a moment later when she noticed Kaito wasn't about to budge.

"It is better that way," he nodded. "Adjust your eyes. When we travel, it will be during day and night. It is easier to start learning now."

Miku looked to Meiko who was rather silent by the fire, then followed Rin and Kaito. "Len is right Kaito, what good is hand-to-hand combat against them? We'll never be able to destroy them that way..."

"We do not need to destroy them. Just dodge them. For now," Kaito said simply. "The two of us will go now. The rest will followed after. One at a time is easier. Meiko, stay here and watch them."

Meiko looked back at Kaito and nodded, "alright" Miku sighed as she went back to the fire. She looked over at the brunette. She seemed like Kaito, exhausted, but not injured. If they hadn't gotten injured on their trip then they should trust Kaito's idea.

"Good," Kaito said turning and leading Rin off. The door shut after them and soon after it was silent. Len placed Kaito's gun against the wall and sat next to Meiko. Something didn't feel right.

Miku clapped her hands together, "Oh, Meiko are you hungry? We have a can of soup left if you want."

Meiko nodded, "that would be great." She said in an odd tone. Miku ignored her and nodded, going to open the can. She ate, but Len couldn't take his eyes off the older Vocaloid.

* * *

An hour or so passed by until Kaito returned. The others looked over, Miku all smiles as usual. He walked in and nodded to them, going back by the fire. "It's too dark now. We will train at day break the rest."

"Welcome back," Miku said stirring the now warming soup leftovers. She figured the others would be hungry when they got home. "There's some soup left if you're hungry, I'm warming it up now," Miku explained.

Len was sitting next to the fire cleaning his small automatic weapon, not bothering to look up. Kaito smiled, just barely, shutting the door behind himself as he walked over, "termination was eminent." He said sitting down. "Len Kagamine will go next."

Len looked up and glanced around, finally noticing a certain blond haired girl was missing. He glared at Kaito, "hey... where's Rin?" He asked, tensing slightly. Kaito wouldn't leave Rin alone out there... would he?

Kaito glanced at Len a moment before looking back at the fire, "this will not keep our body temperatures warm enough. We need more fluids for it. Meiko should get the alcohol."

Miku looked back at Kaito, becoming curious herself, especially when he ignored Len, "Kaito... where's Rin?" She looked at Meiko who hadn't moved since she had gotten back the first time. Miku's eyes narrowed. Now she knew something wasn't right here.

Kaito stared at the fire a while longer then stood back up steadily, closing his eyes in an odd way. "Rin Kagamine has been terminated." He said in a robotic voice. Not his normal calm composer either.

Len shot up, "t-terminated?" He yelled, looking from Kaito to Miku, who's eyes were widening. "What do you mean _terminated_?" He growled, taking one of the guns from it's place on the wall, holding it steadily.

"You need to be calm," Kaito said putting a hand on his own gun, watching Len cautiously. "Rin Kagamine was a weak link. No longer problem. You will be next soon."

Miku's eyes narrowed, "you're not Kaito... are you…?" She asked, moving towards the ammunition storage, where her gun was usually stored. "You're a Hunter..." She glanced at Meiko who's brown eyes seemed odd in the glow of the fire. "Both of you are, aren't you?"

Kaito chuckled slightly, gripping the gun and clicking it out of safety mode. "Vocaloid subject zero-zero-one, Miku Hatsune has figured it out. Winner." He said drawing a second shotgun and aiming each one at the teal haired girl. "You will not do anything now."

Len growled, "I can't believe we let you in! We should have realized there was something wrong wi-"

"Len be quiet." Miku commanded, before turning her attention to the imposters before her. She'd been a fool to let them in without making sure they really were the real thing. Now Rin was gone… She had to protect Len and herself now. "What did you do with the real Kaito and Meiko... Assuming this one here," she gestured to the silent brunette sitting at their fire, "Is a Hunter as well."

"Invalid questions will not be answered," Kaito said simply keeping himself steady. "Return to stand-by mode or I will be forced to terminate now."

"It doesn't seem 'invalid' to me... I'd like to know what happened to our friends." Miku stood her ground. Her right hand just touching the small automatic gun at her hip.

The Meiko imposter looked to Kaito. "They are to be terminated anyway. Why not tell them?"

"Creator said not to tell. Termination only. It is two now. Easy numbers. They will stand-by mode or they will not see them again."

Len was the one who spoke up now, "see them again? You mean they're still alive..." He stated, a little bit of hope in his voice. He'd almost forgotten to grab his gun. Almost. He clicked it off safe mode and waited.

The Kaito put one gun back, keeping the other out. He reached into his pocket and threw some kind of little object at Len. A television screen, small and static filled, an old technology. On the screen was a tied up Rin who was laying down on the ground. Fainted but seeming unharmed. There seemed to be others with her, but they were shadowed.

Len caught it, holding it close, staring down at it with wide eyes. "Rin!" Len gasped, breathing out a sigh of relief. "She's okay…"

Miku smiled slightly, glad. She then turned to the fake Kaito. "If our friends aren't dead... what do you mean by 'Terminated'?"

"Termination will soon follow once the creator has gotten what they want. You will stand-by mode or we will contact creator."

Miku nodded at Len and both of them aimed their weapons at the imposter Kaito. Len had one of Kaito's old ray guns; Miku held her two small automatics. "You'll tell us what we want to know. We've destroyed your kind before with no troubles. I don't think this will be a problem either." Len growled.

"But Len Kagamine will not harm either one of us units," Kaito said looking between the two, "if one unit is destroyed, a beacon will send and your friends will be destroyed also."

Len growled, they were stuck. Miku's eyes narrowed, "what is it that your Creator wants?" She asked glancing from the fake Meiko, back to Kaito.

"The creator does not say intentions. Vocaloid subject zero-zero-one, Miku Hatsune is to be brought back in one piece. All others will be captured or terminated on contact."

Miku lowered her weapons. "If I was to go back with you without a fight... would my friends be safe?"

Len looked to Miku in shock, "Miku, no!"

The fake Kaito nodded, slowly putting his second gun down. He opened his mouth to say something when the door burst open and a shot came through. The fake Kaito didn't even have time to react before its head blew and body collapsed to the ground. "Get down," Kaito growled, coming in, pointing his gun at the Meiko. He was pretty beat-up and pissed as hell by the looks of things.

Len jumped and backed up against the wall he was closest to. Miku stood there dumbfounded, "K-Kaito?"

Meiko turned her head and looked up at the real Kaito. "You have returned, Vocaloid subject zero-zero point one."

"Yeah," Kaito coughed shaking a little as he stood there. "Let's try this again. Where's Meiko?"

The imposter looked indifferent. "Vocaloid subject zero-zero-point-two is with the others." She answered simply.

"And just where might that be?" He asked quickly looking around, "where's Rin?"

The Meiko chuckled slightly, "she is with zero-zero-point-two. Although I know not of their current condition."

Miku just stared between the two a moment before remembering what the fake Kaito had said. If one of them was killed a beacon was set off and "they'll be killed..." She muttered the last part in disbelief. She turned to Len urgently, "Len! Check the screen! Check if Rin's okay!"

Len dropped his gun and fumbled with the small screen. When he finally was able to see it he saw the same static picture of his sister, tied up and unconscious. Nothing seemed to change. Thankfully. "Tell us where they are," Kaito demanded. "If we find them and they have so much as a bruise on them..." He trailed off powering his gun once more. "Now where are they?"

Meiko looked up at him and stood, brushing herself off. "I cannot tell you. Creator has ordered that we not tell the Vocaloid Subjects the whereabouts of our base."

"Fine then. I'll just have to destroy you too won't I? The trackers on our friends will tell us where they are." Okay... So maybe they didn't actually have trackers, but these clones didn't have to know that.

"If you terminate me as you did the other, the other Vocaloid Subjects will be terminated instantly." She stated, staring at Kaito.

"Then we'll take you hostage," he said looking over at Miku and Len, "you two, go look around outside. See if you can find any clues."

Len nodded and ran outside, but Miku stayed where she was. "Kaito, There's another way to find them. They'll be safe too." She started. The fake Meiko looked over to her.

"What's that?" Kaito asked looking back at her curiously. She knew something he didn't? Maybe she was growing more than he realized.

"What they want is me. If I go without a fight they said the others would be safe." She stated before looking to the blown up imposter Kaito, "at least that's what he said right before you came in."

"No," he snapped right away. "We'll figure this out on our own. We're not going to let them take you anywhere. Got it?" Kaito said narrowing his eyes.

"But we don't know what's going to happen if we take the time to figure this out Kaito!" Miku lowered her head, "they're after me. Luka, Gackpo, Rin and Meiko... They were all taken and we don't know what'll happen to them if we wait it out! Another Hunter could come and take you or Len. I don't want that!" She cried out. "If you're taken because of me... I could never forgive myself."

"We can protect ourselves!" Kaito shouted at Miku before glaring back at the Meiko. "Let's try this again," he said holding up his gun. "Tell us where our friends are."

The Meiko looked back at Kaito, "Miku Hatsune is correct you realize. The only way to save your comrades is for her to go. She seems willing."

"What?" Len asked as he came back inside. His brow furrowed as he realized what was going on. They were talking about Miku going alone with the Hunter. They shouldn't even be considering something like that!

"I don't care if she's willing or not," Kaito said glowering at the red clone. "I'm not letting her go." He said backing a little, protectively stepping near Miku. "Len, did you find anything?"

Len shook his head. "It's too dark. I can't see anything out there..."

Meiko watched Kaito as he moved. "What will you do? If you do not hurry others like me will come. Miku Hatsune will be taken eventually... Do you not wish to save your comrades?" A smirk spread across the clone's lips. "If that is the case I can have them terminated now."

Kaito clenched the gun tighter, knuckles turning white in frustration. The clone was right... He had to do something. "Fine," he muttered, "we will go with you to see your creator. In return, you're going to let our friends go."

Miku's eyes widened, "Kaito..."

The Meiko's smirk disappeared. "You are not needed. I can guarantee your comrade's safety if Miku Hatsune goes alone. She will not be terminated either."

"Doesn't matter. Miku is my friend and as such, anywhere she goes, I go too. That or you don't get her at all." Kaito was stern in his responses. He wasn't going to back down now.

Meiko stared at Kaito. It was clear that she wouldn't be able to get him off his plan. Miku walked around Kaito and walked over to the fake Meiko. "You're not going Kaito." She stated as she turned to look at him, a determined look on her face.

"Fine. Then neither are you," he said, obviously frustrated. "I'm not letting you go anywhere with her. Not alone."

Meiko silently watched as the two fought over the matter. Miku stamped her foot down, "dammit Kaito, we don't have time for you to be stubborn like this!" She yelled, "Our friends' lives are in danger! If we just keep sitting around they might be killed, and then the Hunters will be back. You either let me go, and all of our friends come back alive or you don't, they all die, and the hunters come back for me anyway!"

"Why can't I go with you at least? If you want to play hero, fine, but take me with you! Len, Rin and Meiko can last long enough on their own until we come back. I'm not letting you go like this."

"What will Len do until the others get back? He can't stay alone here! It's too dangerous!" Miku shouted back. Len sat silently at the far end of the room, not really wanting to get involved. He hated being the weak one of the group. He was the youngest, even compared to his sister. He hated it, but there was nothing he could do.

"It's only dangerous if they come after him. Which they won't if we go with them now." Kaito shook his head, annoyed by the whole thing, "Miku, like you said we don't have time to argue about this."

Miku clenched her fists then bowed her head in defeat. There was nothing she could say, nothing she could do to get him to stay. Meiko looked from Kaito to Miku, "are you finished?" She asked, "if Vocaloid Subject zero-zero-one is ready to go we will depart for our base."

Kaito nodded, still on the edge about it all. He looked over at Miku, then the Meiko, then back over to Len. "Len, wait here. I'm sure the others will be back soon..."

Len nodded, "Yeah, I'll be here." A smile spread across his face though it was a rough and empty one, "since the threat of the Hunters is gone maybe I can check the outer city for more food. When you guys get back we'll have a feast," He laughed weakly, "just bring the others back safely."

Kaito frowned watching the boy, "I want you to stay right here. Don't leave. Don't do anything. Just wait for them."

Len's smile dropped from his face completely this time, "yeah, I won't leave this spot." He said in defeat. What else could he do?

Miku walked up to him and gave him a hug, "Take care of yourself alright?"

He nodded, wanting to smile but couldn't bring himself to, "don't worry about me. Just make sure you come back soon… All of you."

"We will. You just watch over the others when they get back..." Kaito sighed and nodded glaring back at Meiko, "alright. Which way?"

Meiko made her way to the door and went out into the dark, "follow." Miku sighed and followed after the imposter. Before she exited the small shelter they had called home she looked back into it one last time. She remembered the better times, when everyone was still with them. All of them sitting around the fire, laughing, singing... Happy. She really did miss those times. It was still hard back then, but it was all easier to bear with everyone's smiling faces.

"Hey," Kaito said resting a hand on Miku's shoulder. "Everything will be okay. We're going to get them back and we'll find a new home and everything will go back to normal." He offered a smile but it was weak and forced. Probably looking just pathetic.

Miku smiled back up at Kaito, "Y-yeah..." Things probably wouldn't return to the way they were. She had a feeling she wouldn't be returned with the rest of them.


	3. Two

"We have arrived." Meiko announced as they reached the front door of the rather large building. They'd been walking for who knew how long. The sun was starting to rise, and they were all starting to feel exhausted by now. Kaito was surprised there were no attacks the whole time. No Hunters, no Robo-Loids, no anything dangerous aside from the clone of their friend.

Kaito sucked in a sharp breath looking back over at Miku, "we can head back now if you want to," he whispered, keeping close to her the whole time.

Miku swallowed hard, then turned to Kaito, a large grin on her face, "what are you scared Kaito? What happened to our fearless leader?" She laughed.

"He stayed behind apparently," he said with another forced smile, following Meiko in. She escorted them to an elevator that, at first sight, didn't seem like it still worked. She placed her hand on the doors and a glow came from her palm. Suddenly the buttons lit up and the doors opened for them to enter. Miku entered the elevator and looked around as Meiko pressed one of the many floor buttons and the doors shut behind them.

"So where is this creator?" Kaito asked in the elevator, standing perfectly still and calm. The whole place looked rundown and he wondered why anyone would choose to live there. Not that their base was much better. "Why don't they come to get us themselves?"

"Creator is occupied." Meiko answered simply.

"So where are you taking us now?"

"You wish to see your comrades..." Meiko said simply.

Miku's eyes widened, "you're going to let us see them?" Meiko nodded as the elevator doors opened. Kaito held his breath going into the room, enough to see inside; but not enough in case it was a trap. The light was limited, but once their eyes adjusted it was easy to see Rin was inside; tied, bound, gagged. She looked like a captive, but she seemed okay at the very least.

Along with her were many others, only a few could be identified. Meiko, Gakupo, Luka. The others didn't look as well as the young girl. Gakupo and Luka were pale and off on the sidelines, not tied like Meiko and Rin were.

Miku walked into the room and covered her mouth, "Rin, Meiko!" She cried as she ran over to them. Kaito reached out for her, worried about it being a trap, but she seemed unaffected. Miku looked over at Luka and Gackpo, the two people whom they had all thought were dead, "all of you are okay…"

"Those ones are the eliminated ones," another person said walking over, out of the shadows. A girl who looked the same age as the twins, maybe even younger, with curly red hair and a big smile on her face. "Only the newest two are alive."

Miku's face paled as she looked over at the girl. There was something about her... Miku's muscles tensed. "Who are you?" The shock her finding out her friends were… But she had to stay strong if this girl was an enemy.

"You must be Miku Hatsune," the girl giggled and spun around before bowing. "You may call me Teto. It is nice to finally have you here."

Miku stood her ground, still tense and alert. "Are you... a Hunter?" She asked narrowing her eyes. Sure, she'd asked it, but there was no way this child was a Hunter.

"Of course I am!" She said determined looking, "what else would I be?" Miku looked from the Teto girl to Kaito, utterly confused.

Kaito frowned protectively going by Miku, just in case. "We're here. The deal was our friends go free now, right?" Meiko didn't seem to hear him though. Just continued to stand along side the elevator.

Miku nodded, looking back at Teto. "We were told by the other Hunters that if we came our friends would be safe…"

"Well they are safe," she said pointing back at Meiko and Rin. "See?"

"That's not what we meant," Kaito said shaking his head, "they get to go home."

"You'll have to speak to the creator," Teto grinned.

"And who's the creator?" Miku asked, staring at the small red-head.

"Why? Don't you know?" She giggled spinning in a circle before grabbing Miku's hand, "come on. I'll take you."

Miku was surprised but allowed herself to be lead by the child. The Meiko paused a moment before stepping aside and waiting. "Hey wait a minute," Kaito said following after them, "what about our friends?"

"Your friends don't matter right now," Teto said going back for the elevator, flashing her hand over the scanner and pressing a green button. Miku looked back to the two who were still alive. They'd be okay... right? Miku followed Teto into the elevator, the Meiko stood beside her so she was almost sandwiched between them.

Teto hummed happily as she watched the screen. "Up and up and up," she said. Kaito frowned and watched her, but didn't do much. Everything seemed normal in a strange and eerie way. Miku looked down at the girl. She seemed so innocent, if she wasn't so creepy, Miku might have actually enjoyed being around her.

"You sing beautifully," Teto said after a while, "we've heard you before. Old records of the past."

Miku blinked, "How... how did you get those?" She asked. It had been a long time since she had last sang, let alone recorded it. She had thought all of the recorded song data had been destroyed when the city had been.

"The creator has ways," she nodded as the elevator stopped, "you'll do your best to behave. Creator is tired lately these days. Hopefully you can help," she said as the doors opened. Kaito glanced at the Meiko. They must have been cheap copies. This 'Teto' unit was more alive than they were. The creator must be a good one.

There was the sound of someone sleeping. Soft snoring. Miku stepped into this much larger room to see someone with turquoise hair, much like her own, sleeping at a large desk. The Meiko followed them in the room and chuckled slightly, an odd robotic sound compared to Teto's natural laugh. "Creator has fallen into Sleep mode."

Teto smiled, giggling on her own, then went over. "Creator has worked so hard lately," she said, gently shaking the sleeping figure. "Creator. Creator. We have brought the Vocaloid back for you." She said in a soft tone. Kaito narrowed his eyes a bit, something about the 'creator' seemed awfully familiar.

The creator mumbled before looking up. His blue eyes were blurry, as he looked to Teto. "What was that…?" He slurred, clearly still half asleep.

"Vocaloid Miku Hatsune is here!" She said cheerfully, pointing at the group. "Just like you requested creator."

He blinked a few times, "Miku... Hatsu-" He stopped mid-sentence as he suddenly snapped awake. He found himself being watched by the teal haired girl. He jumped as he started fixing his messy hair, "Teto! Why didn't you come wake me up _before_ you brought her in!"

"Sorry creator," she said with a quick and playful bow. "They are very angry we took their friends and demanded to see you right away. Besides, I don't think she minds how you look."

"Miku," Kaito breathed, "he looks like...like you..."

Miku was shocked. It almost like looking in a mirror. Kaito was right, he did look just like her, "Who... who are you?" She muttered.

The boy glanced over at her, his hair still horribly messy from sleeping. "The name's Mikuo. I'm the creator of the Hunters."

Teto nodded, "creator is very humble. Creator created everything. The hunters and the technology. Creator is the creator of everything. Creator is the greatest ever." She giggled, "creator made me too."

Mikuo laughed as he rubbed Teto's head, "you're definitely my greatest creation, Teto." He grinned, "you're so cute!" Miku was speechless. This boy was the creator of the things who had hunted her and her friends for so long? He was the reason two of her friends were now dead, and why two others were tied up? This boy who was no older than she was... was the creator of those monsters?

Teto giggled, turning red even a little bit. Some kind of facial sensor. "Creator is making me blush!" She beamed.

Kaito made a fist at his side. This wasn't fair. They were both acting like this was a game. A child's game. While their friends could be dying or hurt or something. What about Len? They couldn't stay here forever. "What do you want with us?"

Mikuo looked up, finally noticing Kaito. His brow furrowed, "You aren't supposed to be here..." He then turned to Meiko who simply shrugged.

"He would not allow Miku Hatsune to come alone." She explained.

Mikuo's eyes narrowed, "why didn't you just take him out then?" He asked the Meiko clone as he glared at Kaito.

"Miku Hatsune would have declined coming peacefully. That is certain."

Kaito nodded, "anywhere Miku goes, I go. Especially when it's with some...clone monsters..."

"Not monsters," Teto said offended, "we are creations. Like you."

Mikuo stood up, "I have no intention of harming your 'precious' Miku, so you're free to go." He growled, glaring at Kaito. Miku looked from Kaito to Mikuo. She didn't understand why, but her... twin, if she could call him that, was irritated that Kaito had come along with her. She certainly felt much safer with him being there…

"You'll have to understand why I don't quite believe that," Kaito said holding his ground. "I'm staying with her. Then the two of us will go back, with our friends, together." Teto blinked a few times, a somewhat worried expression on her face as she looked over at Mikuo. He wasn't one to disobey.

Mikuo's glare narrowed even more, "I would advise for you, and your friends, sake that you leave here. If you leave now your two friends I have here will be released with you..."

"I believe the deal was, they'd be released if we came here. Here we are, now let them go or we'll walk right back out." Kaito said firmly, glaring right back.

"They are free to go, if you want me to prove it... here." He pressed a small button on the desk and a blonde girl who resembled Miku walked up. A single ponytail instead of two and a more melancholic expression, but the build and even clothing was similar to Miku.

"You called, creator?" She sighed, voice grinding and almost worse than the Robo-Loids they'd fought. It was almost painful to hear.

"Yes, Akita. Go release the two prisoners so that they may leave with their blue friend here." Mikuo commanded. The blonde girl nodded and went to the elevator. "Poor thing," he commented, "her vocals still aren't quite right."

"What do you want with Miku?" Kaito asked watching the blond girl long enough, then looked back at the creator. "Why do you look like her?"

Mikuo rolled his eyes as he sat down behind his desk, "I look like Miku Hatsune, because I was based off of her when I was created. Everything in this city was created by different creators. The Vocaloids, excluding Gackpoid Kamui, were created by Yamaha, and many variations were born off of the original five. I am one of those variations."

"So then are there others based off the rest of us?" Kaito asked somewhat in awe. "They wouldn't be trying to kill us also, would they? That kind of puts a damper on things," he said shaking his head. "You're based off us, great. Why are you killing us off?"

"There are others like you." Mikuo growled, obviously not happy about it, "There's Kaiko... and Meito... Both of which are useless..." He grumbled, glancing out the large window to his right.

"Kaiko? Meito?" Kaito asked glancing at the window also for a few seconds, "and the twins?"

"The Kagamine twins are their own opposites. No one would be able to create a better opposite for either of them."

"I guess that makes sense. Mirrors..." He shook his head, "you're changing the subject. Why are you killing us off?" He demanded that time. Miku just looked between the two, not sure what she should do.

Mikuo turned to look at Kaito, "I had no intention of killing any of you off... At least.. not the main five." He chuckled lightly, "but the only one of you I require is Miku Hatsune, that's why the rest of you are free to go."

"And what if we do go. What if you do keep Miku. Then what? What's going to happen to her?" He really hated this guy. Miku clone or not. He wasn't about to sit back and leave Miku here to die…

"I realized after making my own creations, the Utau, like Teto here, that no matter what I did their voices were no comparison to hers." Mikuo looked to his creations as Akita entered the room again and stood beside his desk.

"The prisoners have been freed and are waiting on the first floor." She said in broke words again.

"So what does that have to do with Miku?" Kaito asked suspiciously. Hoping that the others would go on without them.

"We want to sing too," Teto said with a perky nod. "We want to dance and sing just like her. Then we will be popular and everyone will know all about us." Popular with who, Kaito wondered. Most of the people in the area had moved on or died a long time ago.

"I simply want to see what about her is different from my Utaus." Mikuo stated. "I've followed her build and design perfectly and they still aren't perfect like her."

"So you kidnapped our friends, sent those...things after us! All for something as simple as that?"

Teto tilted her head, "things? You mean the metal beasts. Creator didn't create those. They are their own being. They obey creator and stay away, but they are not one of us."

Akita looked up from a yellow cell phone she'd brought out moments ago, "they're called the Robo-Loids. Another failed creation by someone else based off you. What you saw was their true form."

Miku was totally confused, "You mean... everything in this city... was based off Kaito, Rin, Len, Meiko and I?"

Mikuo shrugged slightly, "You could say that."

"Why?" Kaito asked, once again in awe. All those things out there were like them? It didn't seem possible. "That doesn't make sense. Who would be that obsessed with us to create...all of this?"

Mikuo smiled slightly, "you really are a moron aren't you?" He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Before this city was destroyed the Vocaloids were _extremely_ popular. Tons of remakes, and fan-creations popped up. Along with those came some failures, now known as the Robo-Loids."

"So everything in this city is fan made because they love us so much," Kaito shook his head, "great. Everything we were has now become a thing to destroy us," he turned around grabbing Miku's arm, "come on. Let's get out of here."

Mikuo's eyes narrowed, "like I said. _You _are free to go. Miku stays here."

"You don't need her. You created this things. You can give them a voice. You don't need her."

Mikuo, gestured to Akita and the fake Meiko, both of which walked to block the elevator, the only way out. "You don't seem to understand how hard it is to give something you've created a voice... It's not as if I'm going to take her voice, or hurt her. I'm just going to use her voice to figure out how I can give the Utau's their own voices."

"That's what you say, but I don't know if we can trust you. You did kidnap us after all."

"We just want to sing," Teto said frowning, looking like she'd cry. If she had tears to actually do so. "We promise not to hurt Miku. She's our hero. Our savior."

Miku looked to Kaito then back to Teto. She really did feel bad for them. She pulled her hand away from Kaito, "I want to help them." Akita looked up at her, for the first time actually paying attention. "Singing is something I used to love to do, and... If they want to learn how as well, I don't see anything wrong with that." Miku finished with a smile.

"Miku... This could be dangerous. You don't know what they're capable of. What if they're trying to trick us? They're the ones that killed Gackpo and Luka. Those things out there… They've been hunting us down for…who knows how long now!"

"I don't think they were the ones who did it. Those Robo-Loids are way different then these people. It seemed like they actually tried to kill us all on many occasions. When these... Utau were sent after us... Well you remember how Luka and Gackpo looked compared to Meiko and Rin." Miku looked to Teto and smiled, "I think I trust them. And if I have a problem, I can take care of myself"

Kaito made a fist by didn't want to argue with her any more. "Fine... We need to get back to Len anyway." He said quietly, reaching in his pocket and pulling out some kind of device. It looked like a cell phone of some kind, but the shape was completely off. "If something happens, call me. I'll be here as soon as possible." He only whispered this of course, as he pressed the object in her hands. "Please be careful."

Miku nodded, "Tell everyone I said Hi." She laughed, then waved, "Take care of yourself out there Kaito."

"Yeah..." He sighed, still reluctant to leave her. He started to go but turned back giving Miku a quick kiss on the cheek, dangerously close to her lips. It was an odd gesture, especially with her being so much younger than him but… "I'll see you again later," he said with a weak smile before finally going to elevators.

"Aw," Teto gushed, "did you see creator? Miku has a boyfriend."

Miku's eyes widened and she turned red. Her eyes filled with tears as she watched her long time friend leave, "B-bye Kaito..." She managed to whisper.

Mikuo's eyes narrowed into a glare at the display, "Akita, escort our guest downstairs so he can be reunited with his friends." He commanded. The blonde nodded, and placed her palm on the sensor. Kaito watched the ground as he stepped into the elevator. He had no idea what they were going to do now. They reunite. They go back to the base. Then what? What about Miku?

"You'll like it here Miku," Teto smiled, clinging to Miku's arm cheerfully.

Miku looked down at Teto and smiled, "Yeah." She wiped the tears from her eyes with her open arm. She wasn't sure why she was getting so emotional. The whole thing had been her idea in the first place. She'd wanted to stay behind. She wanted to help. So why did she feel so bad…?

* * *

Kaito was quiet the whole ride down. They didn't seem to want to hurt her...yet he didn't want to go. His stomach was tied into knots. Then the things Mikuo had said were still playing through his mind. The ones who loved them so much had tried to recreate them and failed, so now those failures were after them?

He thought back about the Robo-Loid they'd killed not that long ago. The one with long black pigtails and a body of a young girl that was distorted. Was she suppose to be a Miku clone? It made him feel sick. How could all of this go on without him knowing?

"Kaito!" Rin shouted running over to him when the doors opened and he entered the lobby. "Kaito, are you okay?" She asked with a weak smile. "We thought…you were dead."

"Huh?" Kaito asked snapping out of his little trance. "Oh Rin...yeah, I'm fine. Are you two okay?" He asked with a weak smile.

Meiko walked over and nodded, rubbing at a small wound on her arm. She looked around, behind him in the elevator where Akita stood, watching them. "Where's Miku?" She asked, looking back to Kaito.

"She's not coming with us," he muttered patting Rin on the head. "She'll be fine. We need to get back to Len right now."

"But... We can't just leave Miku." Rin said frowning, "she's our friend."

Meiko looked back at Akita who slowly pushed a button, still watching the group, the doors suddenly closed and she disappeared. Meiko frowned at the sight, going to say something when the noise of footsteps came from behind the group. Meiko turned to see two figures appear, that of a tall man who wore red, and a girl who had blue hair much like Kaito's.

The boy looked at the three who stood before him, "huh... Looks like Mikuo finally got his wish..." He said shaking his head.

Kaito looked at the red man then the girl and frowned, "let me guess. Kaiko and Meito?" He asked defensively putting a hand to his gun. "Mikuo's friends?"

"Miku...o?" Rin blinked.

Meito, the red man, snorted, "are you kidding me? Mikuo's friends? You couldn't be any more wrong." He took a small flask from his side and took a swig from it.

"We just happened to be born the same time," Kaiko said crossing her arms and glowering at Meito, "and you shouldn't be drinking on the job, Meito."

Meito stared down at the girl. He sighed and put the flask away. He then examined the trio before him, "you seem to be missing a twin..." He said looking at Rin, "L...R...Ren? Ren Kagamine?" He said looking down at Kaiko for a correction.

"Len Kagamine," she sighed shaking her head, "you obviously haven't been doing your homework..."

Rin huffed slightly crossing her arms, "hey! What are you doing talking about my brother like that? Who are you guys anyway?"

"They're us," Kaito said simply. "Isn't it obvious?"

Meiko looked at Kaito and then to the two before them, "They... they're us?"

Meito turned his attention to her, "not exactly. We were based off of you. I guess some fan thought that all of the original five needed an opposite." He shrugged at this.

"Opposites?" Kaito scoffed, "no offence. But your a pretty bad opposite. You're the spitting image of our Meiko."

"He means physically," Kaiko said correcting her...friend. "An opposite sex counterpart. Personality and behaviors may be similar."

"Yup." Meito shrugged, reaching for his flask again, but stopping short when he glanced down at Kaiko. Kaiko kept her arms crossed, giving Meito a stern look tapping her foot.

"This is weird," Rin muttered, "there's not an opposite me is there?"

"What would be the point? You have Len," Kaito pointed out.

Meito put his hands in his pockets as he looked down at the lone twin. "Speaking of which, you probably should go retrieve him from wherever he is... You're going to need all four Vocaloids if you want to get Miku Hatsune back."

"Get her back?" Kaito asked narrowing his eyes a bit, "you make it sound like she's in danger here."

"You don't know much about Mikuo, do you?" Kaiko asked.

Meito laughed, "he probably persuaded you with the whole, 'I want to give the Utau's a voice' bit. I can't believe you fell for that." He shook his head.

"What does he want then?" Kaito asked tensing a little. "He was...bent on that."

Kaiko laughed, "wow... He really played you. And here I thought you were as smart as me."

Meito glanced around to be sure that there was no Utau's around, "He's planning on using Hatsune Miku to make another creation of his; something that will bring the end of the rest of the world, much like what happened in this city."

"A creation?" Kaito asked narrowing his eyes once more. "What kind of creation?"

Kaiko shook her head, "we can't talk about it here. You just have to know your friend is in danger. This whole world is in danger. Things would have been better if you'd just stayed behind in your little base but now…" She sighed and shook her head again.

"Then we have to save her now then!" Rin shouted grabbing for her gun, only to find it missing. "Dammit!"

Meito rolled his eyes, "children shouldn't curse; and this is why you should probably hurry and get your brother. It'll take all four of you to stop Mikuo."

"How hard can it be to stop one...rogue android?" Rin asked.

"Very," Kaiko said shaking her head. "We're not…built like you are. We're fan created Vocaloid's that have been given enough power to be almost official. Even more than that. We're practically you."

"Not to mention Mikuo has countless Utau on his side." Meito grumbled. "It will be _quite_ hard to stop him at this rate."

"Sounds fun," Kaito said sarcastically nodding back to the others, "come on then. Let's go back and get Len." He looked back at the clone Vocaloids. "You can't stop him?"

Kaiko giggled, "are you kidding? Mikuo is the head of everything. You don't think we've tried that already? If Miku Hatsune went rogue, would you be able to stop her?"

Meito growled, "I wish I could punch that ridiculous face in... I can't believe he's changed so much..."

"Please understand that Mikuo once was a normal Vocaloid like the rest of us. He use to be just like Miku and loved to sing and dance and be with us. Then one day he…just changed."

The others nodded, quiet moment until Meiko looked to Kaito, "I'll go back and get Len, and bring back some weapons. You stay here and see how much information you can get from... us..." She shook her head and ran out the door toward the base.

"Rin, you go too. No doubt your brother is worried sick." Kaito said, not taking his eyes off their clones.

"Are you sure?" Rin asked, wanting to go but didn't want to just leave him behind. They were already short on so many in their group...

"Positive," Kaito said with a weak smile.

"Okay... Meiko, wait up!" Rin called running after the red girl.

Meiko slowed slightly to allow Rin to catch up, then together, they ran to go get Len. Meito sighed and took his flask out again, unscrewing the cap and taking a swig from it. "Things really aren't in our favor this time Kaiko." He muttered absent-mindedly.

"Maybe they're not as useless as they look," the blue haired girl grinned, especially when Kaito glared. "So, what's the plan?"

"I...don't know." Kaito said softly looking back for the elevator. "Actually..." He trailed off, "I think I do have a plan."

Meito raised an eyebrow, "Really now?" He rolled one of his shoulders allowing the joints to crack and pop. "Mind filling us in?"

"You said he makes these Utau things right? About how many do you think he has?"

"Hard to say," Kaiko shrugged, "he has dozens of them. Most of them are failed though."

"And does he pay attention to them?"

Meito's eyes narrowed, "not all of them. Mostly his prized one. Kasane Teto." He looked to the elevator, "if I remember right, the failed ones or the ones he's grown tired of are still roaming around the building somewhere..."

"Perfect," Kaito said, "where are the others kept?"

"Why?" Kaiko asked tilting her head.

"Because," he said reaching in his pocket, taking out another circular device. "If there's a Utau my size that wears red, I might be able to come up with a good enough disguise."

"I've seen those," Kaiko said reaching out and that the object. "These were only used in experiments. It puts a mask over the Vocaloid unit using them. Like a layer on a computer program. Only this one works for the real thing, not just old files."

Meito thought for a moment, "well, there's Akaito. He's like Kaiko, a remake of you, but he wears all red like me... But I'm not sure if he has been forgotten. He might draw interest from Mikuo now that he's got what he needs to make his newest creation."

"Alright... That will work even better. Take me to him. Is he working?" Kaito asked.

"Um...not sure," Kaiko said trying to remember as she pressed a few buttons on the disguising unit. "It's been a while."

"If I can switch him clothes for a while and fool Mikuo, I might be able to get Miku out of here."

Meito's eyes widened as he looked around. "We have one way of finding out where Akaito is." He took out, what looked like, a tracking device from his pocket and pressed a button. There was a faint beep then silence. Suddenly the group heard footsteps from a destroyed side of the building. A silver haired woman with teary red eyes looks up at the group.

"You called me?" She sobbed softly.

"I don't think that's the right Utau," Kaito muttered, "who's this one?" She looked a lot like Miku also. One ponytail, similar outfit but with pants instead of a skirt. She seemed to have permanent tears in her eyes.

"This is Haku, she's probably the only Utau who is willing to help anyone else than her creator." Meito explained. "She may know where Akaito is."

"That's useful," Kaito said with a slight smile, "well than Haku, do you know...where..." he trailed off glancing down at her...er...top.

Kaiko narrowed her eyes a bit before crossing her arms annoyed, "she even got you? Idiot." She said tilting up and smacking her counterpart. "Haku was created for crying programs and…growth development. Now stay focused!"

Meito chuckled, "Ah..." He said trying to remember what they were doing before. Even after all this time, Haku had a way with him. Haku looked up at him as he walked over to her, putting his hands in his pockets. "We're looking for Akaito Shion. Do you know where he is?"

Haku nodded slowly, "Right this way..." She muttered as she turned and began walking back the way she came.

"We need to be careful though," Kaiko said in a hushed voice. "No doubt Mikuo is busy with his new prize... But he could be on alert too, knowing we're in the area and everything."

Haku sniffled slightly, "creator won't bother with us down here. We're useless to him…" She sobbed.

"Haku, don't cry," Kaiko said sympathetically, "creator is just busy. Besides, who cares what he thinks?"

"I... I suppose..." The girl muttered. The group was lead to a metal door. She placed her palm on the door and it opened for her. "M-make yourselves at home." She said rubbing the tears from her eyes. The group found themselves in a room with little furniture. "Akaito should be in the back room... I'll go get him." Haku stated as she walked sulkily by the group, through a doorway into the backroom.

"Is she okay?" Kaito asked nodding to Haku. "Does she always just cry…?"

"She was made the same time as Akita, but she was still rejected more than the others. Especially after Teto was born." Kaiko explained, "Mikuo pays attention to his experiments in waves, and Haku was never brought up. He created them both at the same time, but Akita was the one that got all the attention. Haku was pushed aside."

Haku reentered the room a few moments later followed by a man wearing a red and white jacket. His read hair matched the shade of his jacket perfectly. He put his hand on his hip as he looked at the group who stood before him, "you called me?"

"Akaito?" Kaito asked looking at the counter part. It was like looking at a red tinted mirror.

"Yeah," Kaiko said going over, "nice to see you again. We need your help."

Akaito looked from Kaiko to Kaito behind her. "What do you need from me?" He asked Kaito directly, knowing the request was coming from him.

"My friend is in danger. This whole world is in danger. I need to get her back."

"Mikuo has Hatsune Miku," Kaiko muttered, "you know what this means."

"He plans to bring to life that _thing_." Akaito stated, his red eyes narrowing. He crossed his arms, "So... What do you need from me?" He repeated.

"You and I look alike," Kaito stated, "I have a way to disguise my hair and eyes. I need to borrow your clothes. If I can pretend to be you and get up there, I might be able to save Miku."

Akaito didn't seem too sure about the whole thing, but slowly nodded and motioned the blue one to follow. "Alright, follow me and we'll get this figured out." He turned to go back to the back room.

"Alright. I'll be back," Kaito said following his counterpart.


	4. Three

"Len!" Rin shouted pushing open the door to the underground base and running inside. The smaller group of girls had practically ran the whole way back to the base. Exhausted but driven to help their forgotten friends. "Len, quick, we need to go now!"

Len looked up from poking at the fire, high alert and ready for a fight if one came, "Rin? You're okay!" He cried as he stood up and ran to hug his sister. The two held onto each other for a while until Len drew back and looked around, "where are the others?"

"Right here," Meiko said walking into the base, past the two and began buckling ammo and weapons to herself, "we have a problem. The mastermind behind all this apparently wanted Miku to create this _thing_ to destroy the world. Kaito stayed behind to try and save her but they're going to need our help."

"Yeah," Rin muttered going and grabbing her own weapons. "They're both in lots of trouble. If we don't hurry then bad things will happen..."

Len nodded grimly, still a little confused, grabbing his weapons and strapping on extra ammo. He stopped and looked at the wall, eyeing one of the blaster cannons. The particular one he was watching was Kaito's old gun. Len had been wanting to use it for a long time now but he was always 'too young'. Who was too young now? He reached out and grabbed it, making sure it was loaded and ready.

"I hope they'll be okay," Rin said strapping everything she'd need on, making sure she could still move around easily. "Len, you're alright?"

"Yeah," Len nodded, tapping his legs to try and wake them up. "After Kaito and Miku left…things were real quiet. No attacks, no noise, no Hunters, no anything."

"Really?" Rin frowned, "I wonder why…" She trailed off before making a whimpering noise, "I hope they're okay." She repeated yet again.

"I'm sure Kaito has thought of something while we were gone." Meiko stated as she tested the weight of what she had grabbed, wasn't that bad. "I doubt he's just standing in the lobby waiting. He's driven enough. He'll do whatever it takes."

"I'm sure he has," Rin said with a smile going back for the door. "Let's go." She said excited as she opened the door and started out. She didn't make it that far before gasping and stepping back looking out. There had to be dozens of the robotic monsters outside, each one screeching and ready to attack. "We...have a problem."

Meiko looked outside and cursed, "Dammit... When did they show up?"

Len came up from behind his sister looking out. "They must have followed you guys back," he said loading the blaster cannon. He'd been waiting for a fight like this for a while now. "Looks like Kaito and Miku will have to wait…"

"Looks like it," Rin said clicking the safety mode off her gun and holding it out ready to fire. Meiko groaned but pulled out her twin shots and took aim. The monster all screeched back at them before charging.

* * *

"It's really nice to finally have you here Miku," Teto said circling the girl looking her over. "It's so nice to finally have you. Creator will be pleased now." It was just the two of them for now. Mikuo had left to get things set up for…something. He wouldn't say.

Miku smiled, "I'm really glad I can help you guys." Teto was so cute, and so kind. She really enjoyed having her around. She reminded her a lot of a younger Rin. Another little sister.

"Me too," Teto said spinning in a circle before striking a cute pose, "creator said he will give me singing voice. Then I can sing for him and everyone else." She laughed tucking her hands behind her back, "I want that more than anything."

"I'm sure you'll have a beautiful singing voice Teto," Miku laughed. The girls had hit it off great, all things considered. She didn't seem like any of the other Hunters she'd met in the past. More like a lost Vocaloid.

Mikuo watched the two once he returned to the room, keeping his distance just in case. He had Hatsune Miku, and her friends were either destroyed by the Robo-Loids, or they would be soon. He chuckled lightly as he turned and started back for his office, "The world will be mine..."

Teto nodded, laughing also then watched Mikuo come and go. "Creator!" She said running after him, "I'll be back Miku!" She called before leaving, "creator! When do I get my new voice?" She asked eagerly.

Mikuo looked back to Teto and smiled, ruffling her hair, "Very soon Teto, don't you worry. You'll be the most famous singer anyone will ever know," He laughed.

Teto smiled and nodded, "right! When I get my voice, I'll sing you songs all the time creator." She said quite happily.

Mikuo smiled, "I look forward to it Teto…" How was the girl to know it was a lie.

* * *

Meiko, Len and Rin entered the building bloodied and broken, but thankfully alive. Meiko panted looking around, worried when she didn't find anyone else there. "Dammit," she said rubbing at her side where one of the monsters had gotten her. The three of them had barely made it there in one piece. "Where's Kaito and the others?" She growled, looking around frantically.

"We came out of that elevator," Rin said pointing to the side doors, "we need to find them though. Fast. Who knows when more of those things will come…" She suggested as she rubbed her leg. She was still sore from stepping on the glass shard the morning before and running back and forth with a fight in between wasn't any help.

"Are you both alright?" Len asked looking over at his sister mostly. He knew she was trying to hide her limp when she moved. His older sister was always so stubborn though. They didn't have time to waste.

"I'm fine," Rin smiled weakly, "Kaito would be proud of you Len. He can't say you can't use the blaster now…"

Len nodded, about to say something else when another door opened. "Oh, you came back," Kaiko said walking over. "That's great and all, but you need to keep it down." She said in a hushed voice. "You really shouldn't be here at all. Waiting outside would be best."

Len blinked a few times at the sight of the girl, "K... Kaito?" He cocked his head to the side.

Kaiko paused, tilting her head as she looked over at Len then smiled crossing her arms, "oh you are cute."

Len's eyes widened as he looked to his sister and Meiko, "What's wrong with Kaito? Why is he a girl now?"

Meiko sighed and shook her head, "That's not Kaito..."

"Kaiko," the blue haired girl said nodding. "I'm the counterpart to your friend Kaito."

"And she has better things to do than flirt with you," Rin said crossing her arms a little pouty.

"Right," Kaiko shrugged, "now again, be quiet. Please."

Meiko looked to Kaiko and spoke in a whisper, "so what's going on? Where's Kaito?"

"He has a plan," she nodded, "not the best...but it might work…"

"What kind of plan huh?" Rin asked.

"He's going to go to Mikuo directly."

"What?" Meiko yelled, before getting her mouth covered by Len, who hissed a 'Shush!' As soon as he removed his hand, she spoke in a loud whisper, "what is he trying to do? Get himself killed?"

"Not sure," Kaiko muttered, "he acts like he's just going to go in, grab her and go. I doubt it will work that well though."

"We need to help him then," Rin whispered, "where is he?"

Kaiko sighed, "already heading up there."

Meito walked out from the back room and out into the lobby shortly after, "ah, It seems they've returned." The still sobbing Haku walked behind him. "I hope you're all ready. With your friends' plan we may have an army of Utau coming after us when that elevator opens again."

"That sounds about right," Kaiko sighed.

"What's wrong with Kaito all of a sudden?" Rin asked confused, "he's been acting funny since we got here… He normally doesn't rush into things like this. He usually scolds us for trying anything risky like this."

Meiko shrugged and shook her head, "who knows what's going through his head right now... Guess we just have a wait and trust that idiot."

* * *

Kaito, meanwhile, took in a deep breath as he went up in the elevator. The plan was simple. Go in. Grab Miku. Run. The others could help them get away long enough. Hopefully... The doors opened shortly and out he went looking around. They said this would be where they were, "hello?"

Akita was waiting at the elevator as the door opened. She blinked a few times and her eyes narrowed, "Akaito? What are you doing up here? I thought you were with Haku..." Kaito almost had forgotten about his disguise.

"Creator sent for me," he said in his best Akaito voice. Not hard. He just had to sound convincing enough. Confident enough. "To discuss the creation."

Akita's eyes narrowed and she glared the Kaito. She shook her head and pushed past him, "fine." She barked as she pressed a button. "I'll see you around then." The elevator door closed and away she went.

"Guess you will," he said with a slight smirk going to look around. She had to be somewhere around here. He closed his eyes and tried to find any sign of Miku in the air around him. Then he heard it…

"Wakin' up in the morning, I only had one though inside my mind. Yes it was you." Miku's singing could be heard from down the hallway. She was singing a song that she hadn't sung in many years. Melt. She smiled as she continued, it felt good to sing again.

Kaito kept his eyes closed, listening to the song a moment then went after it. When he got closer and actually saw her, he stopped and stayed back, not wanting to be seen. Teto sat there, listening to Miku with a happy cheerful expression.

"I step outside and tell myself, Today you will see how cute I really can be! Melt! I'm Melting as I think of you. And even so, I'm too shy to say that, I love you..." She continued as Mikuo entered the room from the other door way and smiled slightly at the song. He then waved his hand to get her attention, causing her to stop.

"Sorry to interrupt Miku, but I need to start the testing, so If you don't mind, could you come this way?"

Miku nodded, "Sure."

"Is Miku going to start the testing so I can sing too?" She asked eagerly. Hearing Miku's song made her want to sing even more. She'd been waiting a long time for this day.

Mikuo smiled and nodded at Teto. "Yeah, the sooner I get all the tests finished then we can give you a voice too." He then turned to Miku and nodded, "Come with me please"

Teto giggled, already contemplating the songs she'd sing. Suddenly, she stiffened, eyes glazing a moment before shaking her head and frowning, "creator, there is an intruder." She muttered. "Sensors are picking up another's biometrics."

Mikuo's eyes narrowed, "can you locate the intruder?" He asked in a growl.

She nodded closing her eyes a second then straightened up and pointed off to the nearest door, "there." She said simply. Kaito lost his breath a second backing away from his little hiding spot, cursing under his breath. Mikuo nodded, and began walking towards the door. Miku blinked looking from Mikuo to Teto. They both had changed so fast! Was it that big of a deal?

Kaito looked around for a way out but by the time he would have found one, Mikuo would have been there. Instead he stood there, taking a deep breath, ready to do his best Akaito impression. Mikuo stormed out into the hallway and stopped looking around. His eyes widened slightly as he found Kaito standing there along. "Akaito.. Did you see an intruder?"

"No," he said dumbly, mentally smacking himself. "No, creator, I didn't."

Mikuo's eyes narrowed as he watched Akaito. He was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to be up here... Miku then leaned out of the doorway, "Is everything okay Mikuo?"

Kaito glanced over at Miku with pleading eyes but bit his tongue from saying anything. "Forgive me," he said quietly not sure what else to say.

"Hm?" Teto blinked going over also, half clinging to Miku's arm. "Akaito...?"

Miku blinked a few times as she stared at Akaito. "Oh wow! You look just like my friend Kaito!"

Mikuo gave Kaito one last look before turning to go back to his office, "he's Akaito, another one of the Utau. A failed one."

Kaito let out a sigh of relief. It worked. "No," Teto blinked staring at him. "This one isn't Akaito. Akaito's biometrics would not be unknown otherwise."

Crap. Kaito smirked, best he could, "Teto, could it be you're finally starting to lag?"

Miku looked down at Teto and then back to Akaito, frowning. "Please don't be mean to Teto." She said with a kind of pout. Teto nodded, turning and walking off to go follow her precious creator.

Kaito just watched Miku, reaching out for her, "Miku, we need to talk."

Miku frowned looking from Akaito to Mikuo and Teto who were walking away. "What is it?"

"We need to get you out of here," he whispered taking her hand and pulling her for the door, "now."

"Why? Is there something wrong?" Miku asked, frowning

"It's me," he kept whispering, looking back to make sure Mikuo wasn't catching on. "Kaito. This is a disguise, I'll explain later. Right now, we need to get you out of here."

Miku glanced to where Mikuo and Teto had gone off to, the back to Kaito. "What are you doing back up here?" She whispered, "what do you mean I have to get out of here?"

"Look, I know you think this Mikuo guy is just trying to help, but he's not. The others told me about it. He's going to destroy everything and he's going to use you to do it."

Miku's eyes narrowed in disbelief, "what on earth are you talking about Kaito? Mikuo is just trying to help the Utau."

"No, he's not. I talked to the other Utau. They said he's going to use you so he can make this...thing and destroy the world with it."

Miku looked back to Mikuo. He seemed so kind. Sure, he had his moments but he was just trying to help Teto wasn't he? She frowned, thinking a moment then sighed, "fine Kaito... But if you're lying just because you don't like him I'm going to be pissed..." She whispered. She looked back to Mikuo and smiled, "I'll be right there!"

"I'm fine with that," Kaito said with a weak smile going to the elevator starting it up.

Mikuo retreated into the office and crossed his arms, moving to his desk. He wasn't as easily tricked as they thought he would be. "So. That Kaito is trying to take her back huh... Teto, gather the rest of the Utau, meet them down at the lobby and exterminate everyone but Miku."

Teto just kind of stared a while then frowned, "creator, isn't that a little drastic? Miku wouldn't like it if we destroyed her friends..."

Mikuo glared at the small Utau for the first time, "that was an order Teto."

She looked close to crying but nodded and gave a quick bow before closing her eyes pressing a button on her headset. "All Utau are to report to the lobby immediately. Extermination of intruders is eminent."

* * *

Haku held her headset to her ear, "Extermination of intruders is eminent." She looked up to Akaito and Meito.

"Great. The order has been given." Meito crossed his arms, "that idiot must have gotten her."

"Guess so," Kaiko said shaking her head, "we need to know where our loyalties are," she said sighing. "Help them or help him. Technically, we are part of Mikuo's design too…"

Akita ran into the lobby, "Haku! Akaito has abandoned us! We-" She stopped short at the sight of the red haired man who stood beside the sobbing Utau, his arms crossed across his chest.

"What was that... Akita?" He asked in annoyance.

"Not good," Kaiko muttered looking back at Meito, "you got the others to a safe spot right?" She asked quietly. If Meiko and the others were found out... It would not be good.

Meito nodded, "I brought them to the back room where Haku and Akaito were staying. None of the other Utau go there."

Kaiko nodded and then sighed, "we need to find Miku and Kaito," she said turning to Akita, "Akita, go check the second floor."

Akita looked to Kaiko and nodded, "I'll be back." Haku sniffed and waved goodbye to her friend as she ran for a back staircase.

"Alright," Kaiko said looking back at the others, "let's go find them. Kaito should bring Miku down any minute now."

Akaito, put his hand on Haku's shoulder, "This is it Haku... We'll finally put an end to that man's lies... " The silver haired Utau nodded slowly. Kaiko nodded and went for the lobby to wait. Soon enough, as predicted, the elevator doors opened and Kaito came out dragging Miku behind him.

"Let's get out of here." Kaito called to the others as he ran by, not bothering to stop.

Meito nodded, "Kaiko, help them out of here. I'll go retrieve the others" He called running for the back room.

"Right, you two, come with me," Kaiko said going over to Kaito and Miku, "you're not hurt are you Miku?"

Miku blinked at Kaiko and shook her head, "No... I'm fine... Just confused..."

"It's reasonable to understand. We can explain later," the blue haired girl nodded heading for the door as the elevator doors reopened.

"Miku Hatsune, you are not permitted to go," Teto said coming out timidly.

Miku looked back and saw the girl, "Teto..." Akaito and Haku reappeared, stepping in front of the others.

Akaito glanced back, "Hurry and get her out of here... It won't be long until the remaining Utau come down to stop you."

"I wouldn't go out there," Teto warned shaking her head, "creator has called every Robo-Loid in the area to this spot. If you got out there, you will all be destroyed right away. You will be wise to hand Miku over to us now and maybe creator will let you free."

Akaito's eyes narrowed, "will you three be alright on your own for a while? Or should I send Haku with you?" Haku glanced up at Akaito, her eyes widening.

"Haku would be useful," Kaiko nodded grabbing her weapon. Some kind of gun similar to the others. "We know their weak points."

"If you go now, no Utau will be able to sing," Teto frowned, "and creator will be upset. And sad."

Haku looked up to Akaito who nodded. She sniffed slightly before turning to go with the others. Akaito scoffed at Teto, "He's really convinced you with that lie, Teto?"

"Its not a lie, Akaito. If you were nicer to creator, you would know everything too. You are too busy rebelling against him."

Kaiko went to the front door, kicking it open and going outside. Sure enough, there was a nice Robo-Loid army waiting. "Fun," she sighed.

"Miku, stay behind me," Kaito said grabbing his gun and switching off his cloaking device.

"No Teto, I'm just not easily blinded by his false claims." Akaito chuckled as he watched Meito lead the rest of the group out the door after Kaiko, "you honestly think everything he's done was to give us something as small as a singing voice? What about the two Vocaloids who were killed?"

"They were... Creator said they weren't strong enough. They were sacrificed so that he could find out more information. He said he learned a lot and that he felt bad they died but...it was a small lose for our voices." She narrowed her eyes a bit, "you wouldn't understand because you don't understand song."

"What about the orders he gave you? Exterminate those in the lobby, he even summoned the Robo-Loids... Would someone as 'great' as our creator go to such extremes for just a singing voice?"

"He wants to hear us sing. So bad he'd do anything. Besides, I'm sure he's not really going to hurt anyone... Creator is kind."

Akaito shrugged and shook his head, "you are rather sheltered Teto. I can't help but feel bad for you."

Teto just stared back at Akaito for a while then sighed, "creator will not be please," she reaching up and pressing a button on her headphone. "Utau, report to the lobby right away. Red alert."

* * *

"There's a lot of them," Kaiko cursed shooting another robot. "This will be harder than I thought."

Haku aimed her large gun at one of the closer beasts as Meito and the second group ran up. "Teto's summoned the remainder of the Utau, we need to cut a path through these things and get out of here as fast as humanly possible."

"Figures," she muttered looking over at Kaito and Miku, "we're going to ram our way through. You two need to stay close and split once you break past the horde. Got it?"

Kaito sighed but nodded, "right. Miku, ready?"

Miku looked to Kaito and nodded. Something didn't seem to add up. Mikuo had said he just wanted her voice... But why would he send out these things for something that small? She knew she didn't have time to ask questions and readied herself.

"You're not leaving without us are you?" Rin asked running over, shooting one of the Robo-Loids on the way. "Jeez, how rude!"

"Join the party," Kaito said with a weak smile, "you're all okay?"

"Yeah, but we have to get out of here. Now." Meiko said shaking her head and shooting another robot.

"So we've been told..." Kaito muttered.

Len ran up next to his sister, standing back to back with her. A grin spread across his face, "so, looks like the family's back together, huh?"

Meiko smiled, "Yeah, let's try to keep it this way." She stated before shooting down one of the beasts that stood in their way.

"Big happy family," Rin nodded in agreement. "Len, give Kaito his gun back," she said running off taking down a few more of the army. Clearing a small path. Len nodded, tossing the large gun to Kaito, taking out his two smaller guns, firing on more of the beasts.

Kaito caught it, thankful to have his old friend back. Then he took aim and fired at a few himself. Meito and Kaiko stood behind the whole group. Haku wandered over also, glancing back at the building, "Akaito won't be able to hold them back forever. We'd better hurry before the Utau get out here…"

"Haku, keep yourself focused," Kaiko shouted to the silver haired Utau. "Akaito chose to stay behind... Besides, Teto won't hurt him. Not too badly."

Haku closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, "right..." She nodded, then fired her gun at a beast who seemed ready to attack the group.

"There!" Rin shouted pointing, "there's a clear spot!"

"Go!" Kaito shouted pushing Miku forward.

Miku nearly tripped when she was shoved forward, but she continued to run. She didn't completely understand still, but she felt that her friends and herself were in a lot of danger... More than they had ever been in. She felt useless to them now… She wanted to fight, but she knew she had to get out of their. Kaito turned back around once Miku had gone, shooting a few of the beasts.

"Watch out," someone shouted pleasantly, throwing a knife down at Miku from atop one of the buildings. Just barely missing the girl. Miku eyes widened as she stopped, she stared down at the knife at her feet. She looked back up to see who had thrown it.

There was a group there, watching Miku intently. Each one armed in their own way. The one who had thrown the knife was a girl who looked an awful lot like Rin. She had a black bow in her hair though, grabbing another knife and holding it out. "I won't miss next time, but don't worry it won't be fatal."

"Maybe," another said standing beside the Rin clone. This one looked like Len, but he was wearing a lot of black and in his hands was a gun, aimed and ready just in case.

Miku's eyes widened as she watched the twins, "W-what? Rin and Len?" She muttered, hesitating. "No.." She said taking a closer look at the twins. The girl, she looked identical to the main character in Rin's old song, Fear Garden. The boy? Identical to the persona Len took on in the Return to Zero series.

"She certainly seems like a fun one, hm?" A woman who seemed a lot like Meiko's First Alice grinned, resting a blood stained sword on her shoulder. The jeweled guard showed a dark Spade. "Hmmm, I wonder how much blood I can spill without killing her."

"Should we find out?" The Len asked, pointing his gun in Miku's direction.

"We're not suppose to kill her," the Rin said with a smile, taking out another knife and stroking it. "We should probably be nicer to her since she _is_ the one we need."

"Meiko, kill her," Len said rolling his eyes. "Mikuo can just make a different one anyway."

Miku's blue eyes narrowed into a glare, "I won't let you cheap knock-offs kill me." She announced, aiming her shotgun at the rather irritable Len with the gun. Had Mikuo been crazy enough to make clones of their personas?

"Oh" The bloodthirsty Meiko cooed, "she certainly is more fun than I thought she would be!" She grinned, her red eyes shining in anticipation. "I can't wait to cut her open..." Miku watched the Meiko warily as she jumped down, dropped her blade and began to walk slowly toward the Vocaloid, dragging the bloodstained edge on the ground, leaving a trail of red behind her.

"Bet she doesn't even know how to shoot it," Len said with a smirk, not budging at all in his stance. "Try it," he called to her.

"Cheap knock-offs?" Rin said crossing her arms before standing, brushing off her dress. "That's not very nice. I'll have you know, we're just as original as you are."

Miku glanced to the slowly approaching Meiko, then back to the Len. A smirk spread across her face, "you apparently don't know me as well as you think you do." She fired the gun at the blonde boy, then another shot at the blonde girl for good measure. Len fired just as quick, but his aim was off by a lot as he jumped out of the way.

"Not nice," Rin said narrowing her eyes as she jumped out of the way also, but the bullet nicked her dress. "You little bitch!" She frowned glaring over at Miku. "Key or not, I'm not going to let you get away with that!"

Miku grinned as she backed away a bit, quickly reloading her shotgun. "Maybe I should aim for your arm next time? That'd be a nice addition to your silly little fear garden, now wouldn't it?" Miku jumped out of the way of Len's bullets.

Meiko began running at her, "my turn!" She screamed as she swung the heavy blade at the green haired girl. Miku winced as she brought her gun around and used it to deflect the sword.

"How dare she!" The Rin growled angrily. "I'll slice off her arms and use them as a show piece," she hissed but the Len reached out and moved her aside.

"Calm down. Jeez. Meiko looks like she's got this anyway. But..." He held the gun out, clicking it into place and taking aim at Miku. "Might as well make sure things go our way," he said before firing.

"You're not so strong short range, are you?" Meiko laughed as she pushed her blade down. Miku struggled, trying to push the crazed murderess away from her. The first Alice, obviously had the advantage.

Miku tensed as she heard the sound of the Len aiming his gun, "No!" She called as she turned away, putting the red lady between her and the oncoming bullet.

"What?" Meiko's eyes widened before the bullet hit her in the back of the head, causing her to fall, limp to the ground.

"Dammit," Len said narrowing his eyes.

"Good going," Rin said shaking her head with a little smile. "I have been in need of those hands a while though now..."

"Don't care," Len said annoyed as he watched Miku. "I won't miss next time, but I do have orders to keep you alive. Want to give up now?"

Miku backed away from the downed blood-thirsty clone, then quickly took aim at the two twins again. "Like hell she will!" There was a gun shot, as the real Len fired at the Return to Zero one. "You won't take her away from us!"

"Great," Len said jumping away, just barely getting away.

The Rin yelped and got away also, looking over at the real Len. "Little boys shouldn't play with guns," she said giggling at the blond. "If you want to play though, I'll be glad to."

Len smiled back at the girl, "I'd love to play with a little brat like you. You gonna make up a story about how you chopped my hands off like last time?"

"You two must be more careful, Unless you wish to lose the key." A girl who looked like Miku walked up beside the twins. Her eyes were covered by a metallic mask, and she carried a tall staff.

"Synchronicity..." Miku frowned, "This could be trouble..."

"We were handling it just fine," Rin said looking over at the new Miku. "We weren't really going to kill her."

"No, of course not," the Len said keeping a close eye on his counter part.

"What are they?" The real Rin said, panting and going over by Miku. Kind of bloodied up at this point but still ready for a fight.

Miku frowned as she watched the new Miku closely. "They're Utau, like the others... But these ones are different versions of us, from different songs we sang in the past." She looked down at the Alice Meiko, "Alice Human Sacrifice." She aimed her gun at the Len, "return to Zero." Miku's eyes narrowed as she watched the blonde girl with the black bow, "fear Garden... And the newest one, is Synchronicity." She stated.

"And they're all after you," Rin said pulling out her gun and getting it ready. "You should get out of here Miku... Len and I can take care of them. They're us after all."

"I refuse to leave you two to fight them. They're stronger then you think they are!" Miku fired at the Len, then took aim at the Rin.

The real Len frowned, "We're not as weak as we used to be, I think we can handle these guys!"

The other Miku smirked slightly, "You three are no match. You should just give up and hand over the key... Or history will just repeat itself again." At this last statement she gestured to the wrecked city around them. "More destruction will follow."

The other Len easily dodged Miku that time. "Enough talk," he said before narrowing his eyes and firing multiple shots at Len then towards Miku and Rin.

The garden Rin just shook her head and moved away, "this is no fun," she pouted. "Can we just hurry up here?"

Len winced as a bullet hit him on the shoulder, He jumped away from the rest of the shots, and aimed his gun, carefully holding his wound with his empty hand. "No matter what, You won't take Miku from us!" He growled, as he fired a few shots at the Rin and Len.

"Len!" Miku cried out. She glared back at the copies and began quickly loading her weapon and walking toward them at a quick pace. "Let's finish this then!" She hissed as she took aim and fired a shot at the Rin.

"They're mad," Garden Rin said looking over at Len, smiling before looking over at Miku. "Not so fast," she smirked going to move out of the way when her foot slip. "Oh, no that's not fair." She hissed just before being hit with the shot and falling to the ground.

"Finally," the Len shook his head. "Glad someone finally shut her up." He said firing a few of his own shots at Len's to deflect them. "Have to do better than that," he said when they were all stopped or missed.

"Len!" Rin called looking over at her brother, but wasn't about to leave Miku's side. Going after her and powering up her own gun.

"I'm fine!" Len cried, before running after Rin and Miku. The other Miku frowned down at the unmoving Rin. She sighed and shook her head, "I hoped it wouldn't come to this." She stared at the twins. "I will not have you two interfering anymore." She said before raising her right hand. As she did a bunch of blue and black spirit-type auras raised out of the ground. "Go." She commanded, and the small horde began rushing the twins.

"What the hell are those?" Rin shouted looking at the aura things, skidding to a halt to turn and face them, shooting at them with her gun.

"Yeah, that'll work," the other Len said rolling his eyes.

"Rin! Len! Get away from them!" Miku cried out, watching the auras rushed forward. Len gasped as one hit him and he was knocked off his feet, as if he had been hit by a strong wave in the ocean.

The Miku clone shook her head, "There is no escape."

"Len!" Rin called again, looking over at her brother before shooting some more at the aura things. When one hit her, she too fell back with a loud 'oof!' sound, flinching a moment. "Miku, get out of here!"

Miku bit her lip before she remembered something. In the video for Synchronicity, Len had stopped Miku by destroying the mask. "I hope it's still that simple!" Miku took aim at the other Miku for the first time and began unloading her shotgun, aiming at the mask that covered the girl's eyes. The clone gasped, not having the time to form an aura to save her self in time, the mask was hit and shattered as she fell back.

"Nice shot," Rin said rubbing her arm before quickly jerking her head back when someone else approached.

"You're losing," Teto said looking at all the others. By now she was covered in quite a lot of blood, clothes torn here and there but she was obviously not the loser. "That's too bad. Mikuo wants Miku now though," she said with a sigh. "Miku, come with me please?"

"Teto," Miku turned her attention to the small Utau. She could tell that this wasn't the same innocent little girl from before. She was the enemy now.

Len growled as he ran to block Miku from Teto, "it doesn't look like we're losing to me!" He gestured to the downed Utau, "they were easy to take down!"

"I wasn't talking to you," Teto said with the slightest giggle. "I was talking to the other Utau. They're just silly. If they try to force you like that, there's no way you're going to go with us." She said smiling again holding out her hand, "Miku. Please come with me. Creator is kind of angry..."

Miku shook her head, "I can't. Your creator lied to you. What ever he's planning, it's not so you Utau can get a voice. Why would he try to kill my friends over something as small as a singing voice, Teto?"

"Because he..." Teto said trailing off. It was true. Why would Mikuo order something as drastic as that over something so small? He did mention something else but he never specified what... Either way. Teto couldn't let them get away. She frowned then held her hand out, with the flick of her wrist, a small shot gun popped out, aiming down at the blond girl. "I'm sorry Miku. I have to."

Miku's eyes narrowed into a glare, "you don't _have_ to do anything that man told you. I know you're a good girl, and you don't want to do this." She said shaking slightly, "you could stop this and come with us."

"I can't. I was created by the creator and I have to do as he says or he won't love me anymore," Teto said clicking the gun and putting her finger on the trigger. "I don't want to kill anyone else, so please just come with me..."

"You think someone like that could possible love?" Len screamed, furious that this girl was not only threatening to shoot his sister, but also spouting some nonsense, "that man is a heartless! He killed both Luka and Gakupo! He didn't even feel anything about it, did he?" At this point tears were welling up in the young boys eyes.

"Creator is doing all he can to help us. A few sacrifices are necessary to insure the well being of us all." Teto said frowning a bit at the boy. "You know nothing about creator. How dare you make assumptions like this. You'll be the next one to go. Then Miku Hatsune will come for sure..." Teto said, lifted her hand and aiming at him, shooting the gun. Instead of a bullet, it was a laser kind of light and hit its target easily. A more advanced weapon to the regular shot gun, but not quite a blaster cannon like Kaito had. Len fell back, wincing as he held his arm.

"Len!" Rin shouted, shifting to get up when Teto aimed back down at her and shot again. Rin went down quickly, clutching her shoulder where the blood was already bubbling up.

"Rin, Len!" Miku cried out as the twins were hit, "Teto, stop this! They're my friends!" She screamed, desperate. "Stop hurting them!"

"Then come with me," Teto said looking close to tears herself. "Please Miku. The next time I fire my gun, it'll kill them..."

"No matter what I do... Your creator will end up hurting the people I love." Miku shook her head, "I refuse to let that happen." Miku slowly reached for the small hand gun that was still strapped to her thigh and removed it from it's holder. She looked down at it, before shakily putting it against her own head, "this is the only way that will save them. "

"What are you doing?" Teto asked suddenly very worried.

"M...Miku! What are you doing?" Rin asked looking over at the teal haired girl. "Don't aim something like that at yourself...!"

"Foolish girl," Zero Len said watching them from the side. Not wanting to get in the middle of it all. "You do that and everyone loses." He looked around, considering calling for back up. This whole thing didn't look good.

"This is the only way to stop that mad man. I die, and his mission fails. He wont try to hurt any of you anymore" Miku smiled weakly at Rin then Len, who was sitting on the ground, speechless. Frozen in shock and horror.

"That's not true!" Rin shouted, "he...he'll lose you sure, but that won't change anything! He'll come after us anyway. He'll kill us all... You can't do this! Think of the others! What about Meiko? Or Kaito? What about us? You can't do this to us!"

"I think you'll all be fine without me, yeah cooking might be hard for a while..." She laughed slightly, thinking of Meiko attempting to cook the group a meal. "I know Mikuo won't attack you guys anymore, so you can finally get out of this city, and live a happy life." Miku smiled and shook her head, tears running down her cheeks, "that's all I ever wanted. For you all to get out of here, and to finally be happy, without worrying about attacks. "

"Don't do this Miku!" Rin tried again, tears were falling now as she gripped her shoulder tighter, not even feeling the blood seeping through her clothes by now. "We're not going to be happy. Not without you. We need you. You're our friend, our family, without you...it's not the same at all!"

"I know it'll be hard, but just keep smiling, okay?" Miku smiled at the twins, "j-just keep smiling for me." Miku placed her finger on the trigger, and closed her eyes, hesitating a moment before finally pulling the trigger and falling to the ground.

Then it was like the world froze.


	5. Four

The sound of the gun shot echoed throughout the wasteland. Everyone else stopped also, turning in the direction of the sound. Kaito frowned, trying to see anything but they were further away. "What was...?" He muttered, Rin's ear piercing scream made his stomach turn. "Meiko!" He shouted running for the others.

Teto was standing there, pale and shocked as she looked over at Miku's limp form. Not sure what she should do or say. Rin was just crying and screaming, holding her head tight and keeping her eyes squeezed tight as though the whole thing would go away if she couldn't see it. Meiko turned and ran, following after Kaito as he ran past the frozen creatures and Utau around them. Her stomach dropped as the sight finally came into view. She stopped, her eyes widening. "Kaito..." She muttered, "M-Miku is... She's..."

"What happened?" Kaito said right away when he finally got to the scene. He looked from the fallen Utau, to the scared Teto, to the twins then finally to... "Miku," he breathed in disbelief. "What happened?" He asked again, feeling his hands shaking and legs going weak. He felt sick.

Len looked up at the older Vocaloid shaking as the tears finally came to his eyes, "M-miku..." He muttered in a barely audible voice, "s-she... she... k-k-killed herself... To save... R-r-r-Rin and I..." He turned to look back at the limp figure before them.

"Why?" Kaito snapped, not sure who he should be angry at the most.

"She thought it would stop," Teto muttered, still in shock about it all. She reached up and touched her headphones gently. "Creator..." She whispered, "creator...Miku Hatsune has..." She couldn't even say it.

"She terminated herself..." Mikuo growled, slamming his fist on his desk. "Dammit!"

"Meiko," Kaito said softly, "take Rin and Len and get out of here..."

Meiko looked to her blue haired comrade, "what are you going to do?" She asked, skeptical.

"Don't worry about me right now," Kaito said shaking his head before glancing back at Meiko, "just...just get out of here. Go back to the base. Got it?"

Meiko's eyes narrowed, "You doing something reckless isn't going to help. Wait until you calm down before you do anything rash, Kaito."

"I'm not going to do anything 'rash', Meiko," Kaito said shaking his head before stumbling a step back. "Go back to the base. Now."

"You're planning on going to confront that Mikuo guy, and I'm warning you not to." Meiko put her hands on her hips, "these Utau are strong, and there's probably a bunch more in that building, ready to protect their master. You're going to get yourself killed."

"Go back to the base," Kaito said again narrowing his eyes at no one in particular. "I mean it Meiko. The twins are injured and just saw..." He shook his head, "just go. Now."

"If any of us are going back, _all_ of us are going back, together." Meiko glared up at the blue haired man. "I will not allow you to do whatever it is you're planning! The twins need you now more then ever. I won't be able to comfort them on my own, you know that."

"I'll do what I can to make things right. I'm not going to do anything drastic. I'll be back home in no time, but right now you need to get out of here," he said glaring right back at Meiko, "that's an order."

Meiko glared back, but decided not to press any further. "Fine," she snapped as she walked past him to retrieve the two crying twins. She normally wouldn't let him boss her around like that... But some how... He seemed more dangerous this time...

"Meiko...?" Rin sobbed looking up at the older girl when she got closer. The tears refused to stop. "Miku...sh-she's..." She couldn't even say it, just sat there shaking and holding her shoulder.

Meiko kneeled down next to the young girl, "I know, it's okay. Let's go home." She offered, reaching out to help Rin up to her feet.

Rin stared back at Meiko a second before looking back over to Miku. "But Miku...sh...she's..." She hiccupped a little, unable to actually will more tears to fall.

Meiko nodded, "I know." She said, trying to be more comforting than she had ever been to anyone before, "I know." She reached out, and took the small girl and lifted her up. "Come on, let's get your brother and go back home."

"We can't leave Miku," Rin said rubbing her eyes a moment before holding onto Meiko. "We can't leave her."

"Kaito will take care of her, don't worry." Meiko wrapped an arm around Rin's shoulders, "She'll be okay."

Rin just stared back at her, not sure what she should do or say. She looked down at the ground then let her eyes wander over the battlefield. Stumbling over to her brother, Rin knelt down, reaching out with her bloodied hand. "L...Len?" She tried in a shaky voice, looking him over. "Are you okay?" Len's face was buried in his knees, he shook and a miserable little whine escaped from him.

Meiko walked over to him and knelt beside him. "Len, let's go home."

He shook his head and mumbled something, his small voice warped by his sobbing. "W...we can't... I c-can't..."

Rin felt about the same as he did. Something about this whole thing was so surreal...she didn't know what to do or say. She choked back a sob and shook her head pathetically. She just wanted to curl up and stay there forever but she knew she couldn't. She had to be stronger for her brother. For all them. "Len," she said swallowing the lump in her throat. "Please?"

Len slowly looked up at his sister, his lower lip quivering, and tears streaming down his cheeks. He seemed like a lost child. Meiko reached down and ruffled his hair, "come on kiddo. Lets go home." She paused for a moment and suddenly remembered something, "I have a special surprise there waiting for you!"

"A surprise?" Rin asked with disbelief, looking over at Meiko carefully. How was she so cheery? Meiko had always been the bitter grumpy older sister to them all and now after Miku had... What made her happy? Maybe it was false. She did have to be strong for them. They were just children. Rin nodded then forced a pathetic smile back at her brother, "M...Meiko's right!"

Meiko ignored Rin, and reached down grabbing Len's small arms and pulling him up to his feet, "the sooner we get home the sooner you'll see what I have in store for you two." She forced a smile. She didn't really feel up to trying to cheer these two up. She wanted to just go back and drink the remaining alcohol and let everything sort itself out; but with Miku gone, and Kaito... She was all the twins had.

"Come on Len," Rin said reaching out and holding onto one of her brother's arms, pulling herself close so she could lean against him. Everything ached. Her foot was still hurting from the glass the morning before. Her shoulder was covering in fresh and dried blood. She felt numb and just wanted to curl up and cry somewhere. But Meiko could be strong for them, she could try to do the same.

Len nodded quietly, "alright." He whispered, holding on to his sister. He couldn't understand. Why was it that this had happened to them? How could one day, they be planning for their seemingly bright future out of this city, and the next day? The mother-figure of their family was dead... He winced slightly and held on tight to Rin, wanting to just forget it all.

Meiko watched the two carefully. She could tell the pain that they were going through. It was almost too much to bear. She smiled slightly to herself hoping that the surprise that awaited them back at the base would cheer them up a bit.

Rin nodded again, patting her brother's head gently before looking back at Meiko. "Wh...what about Kaito?" She asked, glancing over in Kaito's direction but he was already gone. in fact, most everyone had cleared out without them noticing. The only ones left were them, Teto and Miku's limp form.

Meiko's eyes narrowed in annoyance, thinking about the Blue haired man that was their self-proclaimed 'leader'. "He's taking care of something... He'll be home soon." She hissed out between clenched teeth, clearly peeved that he got away and bossed her around. She'd get her revenge soon, but probably not before he did.

* * *

With Miku gone and a lot of the Utau taken down, the rest was easy. No one objected to Kaito moving about the building, some even guided him the way. He wasn't sure where Kaiko or Meito vanished off too, but he didn't exactly care at this point. He stepped out of the elevator with a permanent glare, hand resting on his old gun as he moved slowly into the room. "Mikuo!" Kaito hissed out looking for the teal haired man. "Come out!"

Teto was hesitant but slowly nodded and watching the doors when they opened. "Yes creator," she said mechanically.

"You've been in here before, and you can't even think to find me in my office?" Mikuo's voice called out, "You must be dumber than I thought." He laughed coldly, clearly irritated.

Kaito was in no mood for games, holding the larger weapon out, positioning it over his shoulder for better aim. "You killed her."

"I believe you're wrong. _I _didn't kill anyone. Miku Hatsune chose her fate on her own." Mikuo sat at his large desk, leaning back in his chair. "I didn't tell her to do it, so I'm not the one to blame." He paused before a grin spread across his face, "maybe if her 'Prince' had been with her, instead of doing who knows what, maybe he could have stopped her from blowing her own brains out."

That hit a nerve. Kaito tightened his grip on his gun until his knuckles were white and shaking. "You sick bastard," he growled. His heart was hurting more than anything now. Mikuo was wrong. Miku wouldn't have done something like that if she hadn't been hunted. "It was you," he said quivering. "If your Hunters hadn't come after her, we'd all still be happy and living back home."

Mikuo sighed, shaking his head, "fine, if you _must_ find someone to blame for this incident, put it on my head. I _am_ the evil mastermind after all." He shrugged, "I admit to killing your friends, Luka Megurine and Kamui Gakupo. But I am in no way responsible for what happened out there just now. If you really want to think about it, if you hadn't taken her away from this building, she never would have felt the pressure to pull the trigger, now would she, Kaito Shion?"

"You don't know anything!" Kaito shouted. When had he started crying? "You don't know anything at all! Miku would never-!"

"Creator?" Teto asked weakly, walking into the room, bloodier than she'd been before. She paused when she saw Kaito, physically flinching as she looked away. "Mi...Miku Hatsune is ready..."

"Excellent. Nice work Teto." He smiled at the small Utau before standing up and walking around his desk to join her, "now, I have something to try, so why don't you just run along and join the rest of your little family in that hole you call a home."

"What do you mean?" Kaito asked glaring again as he looked at the red head. She nodded to her creator, but it was weak and pathetic. Tears streaming down her face. "What the hell did you do to her?" He asked suddenly getting a bad feeling. Miku was dead. Right? What more could they need her for now?

Mikuo placed a hand on Teto's head, "I have a theory that I can still get what I need from Miku Hatsune. It just depends on what parts of her brain were destroyed when she killed herself." He stated, staring back at Kaito. "Zatsune can still be created." A smile spread across his face before he turned and walked out the door, making his way to the elevator.

"What?" Kaito asked, eyes going wide. Teto nodded slowly again and followed after Mikuo. "No!" Kaito shouted powering up his gun. "You are _not _going to mess with her anymore! Miku killed herself," it hurt to say but it was true... "Let her rest in piece you...you...!"

"You don't get it do you?" Mikuo laughed as he turned back to look at the seemingly crazy Vocaloid. "You aren't 'human'. Nothing in this city is an organic life form. We were all man-made. Miku Hatsune is not technically dead, because only organic creatures can truly 'die'. What she did when she pulled that trigger was make it so her current body is no longer able to function. That's it! Using this knowledge I will simply take the parts I need from her main processor, or her 'brain' and replant it into a new body. Simple."

"You can't!" Kaito shouted, but something deep down was telling him that it made sense. He knew they weren't actually human. They were nothing but programs given life and android bodies. They were made to sing, to dance, to entertain. They were given more than that though in time. They cried and bled and had feelings. They could die. "I won't let you touch her," he growled angrily.

"What will you do?" Mikuo asked as the elevator door opened and he began to back into it. "You failed to save your 'princess' before, how do you expect to save her now?" He laughed as the doors of the elevator closed.

Kaito threw the gun down with a hard 'clank' as he ran for the elevator, slamming into it and pounding on the doors. "No!" He screamed, hitting every button he could but it was too late. "Miku!" He screamed again, banging against the door harder and harder but it wasn't about to open. "No...!" He sobbed trying some more but it was no use.

* * *

"Creator?" Teto asked looking up at Mikuo.

"Don't worry, Teto. It'll be okay." He smiled down at the small girl at his side. "You'll have your friend back, and no one will take her away again." He ruffled her hair as the elevator descended into the basement level of the building.

"I know but...what if Kaito is right? What if... What if it is wrong?" Teto asked furrowing her eyebrows. She'd never thought of anything being 'bad'. When it came to herself or the others, especially Mikuo, she'd always thought it was the correct way. He was her life so naturally she did and believed everything he said. But now...

Mikuo's smile disappeared, his blue eyes narrowing, "Don't listen to him. If he hadn't interfered the first time, none of this would have happened. Remember that Teto. It was his selfishness that lead to Miku's demise."

Teto was hesitant but slowly nodded and watching the doors when they opened. "Yes creator," she said mechanically.


	6. Five

Kaito had worn himself down until he was on his hands and knees, still trying to get the elevator open weakly, but only failing with each try. He felt numb all over. Mikuo was right about everything and even the blue haired Vocaloid had to accept it. "You're pathetic," Kaiko muttered coming out of, what seemed like, now where. Shaking her head and motioning Meito to follow.

Meito rolled his eyes as he followed after his smaller companion, moving toward the Vocaloid. "I thought you'd be a bit stronger than that." He grumbled as he reached down to pull Kaito back up to his feet.

Kaito narrowed his eyes a bit but didn't seem to want to move, ignoring Meito's efforts to get him up. "Hard to be strong when you're helpless," he muttered, making a fist and pounding on the elevator door again, another weak blow. "You wouldn't understand," he said quietly again.

The brunette glared down at the weak man at his feet. "You know, it's not just about 'poor-pitiful you' now because that psycho down there has what he wants, we're all in danger, including your friends at home!" Meito growled before reaching down and grabbing Kaito's blue scarf and using it to pull him up, glaring into his eyes. "So, you're going to help FIX this problem." He demanded, clearly annoyed.

Kaito still didn't seem that effected, eyes almost hallow as he looked through Meito. "It doesn't matter. Miku's dead. There's nothing we can do anymore. She's dead because I was an idiot and couldn't protect her and the others... There's nothing we can do," he sighed shaking his head before standing on his own, pulling his scarf back.

Meito growled before turning to the girl who was standing silently, watching them, "Kaiko, talk some sense into him before I beat the crap out of him." He commanded before storming away from Kaito, angrily taking the flask off his belt and taking a swig.

Kaiko shook her head, going to say something to Meito about drinking at that very second, but decided against it. "He's right," she said looking at her mirror image. "Your friends, your family, they're going to die if you just sit back and wait like this. I know... Miku is gone but... She might not really be gone. She's a machine like all of us. We can't technically die because we're not technically alive." She said tilting her head. "You can't save everyone but you can still protect those waiting for you."

"How?" Kaito frowned, "I can't do anything. I can't even open the stupid door," he growled in frustration, making a fist at his side.

Meito rolled his eyes as he walked past Kaito to the elevator. He simply placed his hand on the panel next to the door, and it opened with a welcoming chime. "Oh look, problem solved." He smirked slightly before taking another drink.

Kaito looked at the door, angry at...someone. He wasn't sure if he should be mad at himself or Meiko. "Now what?" He asked, "it's open but I still can't do anything. I don't know where they are or even what to do if I found them."

"Stop him from creating Zatsune, by whatever means you deem necessary," Meito responded simply. "We can escort you to the floor that Zatsune's body is being housed, seeing as that's most likely where the little maniac is heading."

"Zatsune," Kaito frowned, "what is that?"

"Zatsune is the...the thing Mikuo found," Kaiko said shaking her head. "A hidden weapon made in the image of Miku Hatsune. It's a monster."

"It alone can destroy cities double the size that this one was." Meito stated. "Which is why we need you to stop him before he has the time to put in the last piece he needs from Miku to finish his 'ULTIMATE CREATION' or whatever the hell he calls it."

"Language," Kaiko warned Meito before nodding, "he's right though. We have to stop him before he finishes it."

"What does he need something like that for?" Kaito asked, not sure what would be the point in an ultimate weapon.

"Only he knows that."

"He's crazy, who knows what goes through that madman's head" Meito said as he crossed his arms. "But enough talking about it. The more time we waste, the closer he gets to finishing." The brunette then turned and walked into the open elevator.

"Right," Kaiko said going for the elevator also, only turning long enough to look back at her counterpart. "Well?" She urged. Kaito still looked unsure but slowly nodded and went for the open doors. "Meito," Kaiko said when the three of them were in.

"Got it." He nodded before pressing a button on the panel. The doors closed and soon the elevator began its decent toward the basement.

"I still don't know what we'll do," Kaito said as he waited, feeling the whirl of the elevator as it moved. It made his stomach hurt, especially when it stopped.

"When the doors open, we'll be in a hallway," Kaiko muttered. "Go down a small flight of stairs and you'll be there. You never know what will happen but we'll do our best to be there for you too."

"And if we need them, we still have the remaining Utau that helped us before." Meito added, putting his hands in his pockets. "I'm sure Haku and Akita wouldn't mind helping to ruin that mad man's happiness"

"Not sure," Kaito muttered as the machine stopped and the doors whooshed open. "Can I ask you two a favor?"

"Of course," Kaiko nodded.

"I'll go and do whatever I can, but I want you two to stay behind. If he manages to kill me or...whatever... I want you to go back to the others."

"You think you're going out the 'tragic hero'?'" Meito sneered, "Mikuo is pretty weak on his own, I don't think you'll have much of a problem dealing with him. Besides, if we're lucky M-" He cut himself off and shook his head, "Naw, better not get any hopes up."

"What?" Kaito asked looking over at Meito with a stern look. He had some kind of odd feeling standing between the two look-a-likes. They seemed to be hiding something…

"Nothing," Kaiko said, narrowing her eyes giving Meito a warning glance.

Meito laughed nervously as the smaller girl glared at him. "Yeah, don't worry about it. We'll just see what happens and just go from there."

"Yeah," Kaiko admitted softly, leaning against the walls and waiting. Kaito, meanwhile, was going down the hall and heading for the room they'd told him about. The whole thing seemed too unreal. When the whole 'end of the world' thing had begun, he'd expected it to be difficult but not like this... Losing Miku like that and now the thing with Zat...Zatsune? Was that it? Kaito frowned as he found the door, pushing against it and peeking in quietly.

The room within was split in two by a thick glass wall. On the side closer to the door was a table surrounded by computers and monitors. On the table lay a broken form, obviously what was left of Miku Hatsune. Wires from the computers were connected to small ports hidden by her teal hair. On the other side of the room, beyond the glass wall was a girl who looked similar to the deceased Vocaloid. Her black hair was tied up in high ponytails, and she wore an outfit almost identical to the one Miku used to wear before the city had been destroyed. The only differences was that the shirt was cut to expose more chest, and all the teal accents were replaced with a dark blood red.

"Creator, Miku Hatsune has almost finished the pre-download process," Teto said running her hands along the keyboard, eyes glazed over as she worked. "Shall I proceed with the next step?" She asked, blinking a moment and glancing at the door with her eyes only long enough before looking back toward Mikuo.

"Yes, run a system test before starting the download. We want to be sure that everything will go as planned." Mikuo nodded as he moved to observe one of the monitors that was directly connected to the girl. Seeming satisfied with the reading he moved back to the large keyboard facing the black haired girl on the other side of the wall.

Teto nodded, closing her eyes and tilted her head back, opening a port in the back of her neck and connecting some kind of wires from her to the computer screens. Her eyes flickered with a hum of light and sound as she ran some kind of invisible test. "Ten percent," she said in a wavering voice, "twenty...thirty...forty..."

Mikuo watched the Utau briefly before looking to the girl on the other side of the glass. A smile spread across his face, "Finally. After all these years... Zatsune, the ultimate creation will be complete…!" He laughed.

"Scan complete," Teto said before disconnecting herself, "everything seems valid," she said looking back at Mikuo again. "Shall I begin the procedure?" She said hesitantly. Kaito flinched before making a fist. He couldn't just sit back and watch but at the same time...what could he do?

"Excellent." Mikuo smiled at Teto, "Begin the download, and when it finishes, execute the startup program." A twisted grin spread across his face as he turned back to his keyboard and tapped a few keys, "Let's not waste anytime in booting up the new Miku."

Teto nodded and typed a few things at a super inhuman speed. When finished there was a loud clicking that echoed through the room. "Ten percent," Teto said mechanically and almost sad, "estimated time until reboot process is complete... Five minutes, thirteen seconds."

"He's still standing there..." Meito growled as he stormed back to the elevator, where Kaiko was waiting. "They've started the download program and he's just sitting there letting it happen!" He barked at the girl, clearly pissed that the blue haired Vocaloid was just watching and not jumping into action.

"He's probably just scared," Kaiko said trying to stay calm, but really, she was quite annoyed at him herself. "There is a high likelihood it won't work..."

"If he takes care of the problem now there's nothing to be scared of!" Meito raged as he began pacing back and forth. "And if he doesn't get his ass in there in the next 2 minutes I'LL give him something to be scared of!"

"Meito would you be quiet," Kaiko said shaking her head. "I know he's being an idiot but... Put yourself in his place. Remember when we lost the others? He really liked her. You don't know what he's going through."

Meito glared at the blue haired girl, but stopped. He looked back to where Kaito was still standing at the doorway, "Well he needs to get moving, or he'll lose the rest of them too." He muttered.

"I know," Kaiko said, starting to leave the wall a second. Instead, she paused then went back against it. "He's going to move soon," she said shaking her head.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Meito gruffed, crossing his arms and glaring slightly at the blue Vocaloid. "He seems planted where he is to me..."

"Trust me. I know my counterpart," she said watching nervously.  
Kaito didn't seem to be making any effort to move, too mesmerized by the whole thing. Then he made a fist and pushed open the door, "that's enough Mikuo," he glared, going for his shot gun.

Mikuo froze a moment before turning to look at the intruder. After a few seconds the sadistic grin returned to his face. "Well, well, well. You finally made it! I was worried you'd never make it down here." Mikuo laughed.

"Let her go," Kaito said finally finding his gun and holding it up, cocking it and waiting. He didn't think he'd ever have to use any kind of weapon against one of their own but this was a special case. "Now."

Mikuo cocked his head to the side, "Let who go?" He asked before laughing slightly, "You can't make your demands so general or I won't know who you're talking about!" He continued to laugh as he sat back in a computer chair, clearly relaxed.

"You know who I'm talking about you sick bastard," Kaito said narrowing his eyes, bring the gun up closer. "Miku. Let her go."

Mikuo sighed and shook his head, "There you go being general again! Are you trying to be confusing? Which Miku do you want?"

"There's only one Miku," Kaito said in angry annoyance. "If you don't give her to me I'll shoot you..." It was more or less a lie but Mikuo didn't have to know that.

"Psh." Mikuo shook his head, "And you're wrong again, Kaito. There is more than one Miku. There are actually two in this very room!"

"Not the way I see it," Kaito said, getting more pissed by the second. "Give her back or I'll-"

"Download complete," Teto said monotonous, eyes flickering a moment before looking at Mikuo. "Activation process begun."

Mikuo glanced to Teto a moment, before the grin from before spread across his face. "Alright then. You can have what's left of Miku Hatsune. I have no need for her body anymore." He then turned his attention to the girl beyond the glass. "Zatsune Miku is complete."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Kaito said, closing one eye so he could aim better, shooting toward the glass a couple times in hope of shattered the glass and hitting the monster. Instead, they just bounced off or did little to no damage. "Dammit," he growled.

"Activation...fifty percent complete."

Mikuo laughed as he sat back down into his spinning computer chair, clearly amused by the Vocaloid's attempt. "You're going to have to try harder than that!" He exclaimed before knocking against the glass with the back of his knuckles. "This is a special type of glass, it'll take more than your dinky weapon to get past it."

Kaito narrowed his eyes. Mikuo was right. The hand gun wouldn't do a damn thing against the glass. He needed the laser gun or blaster. Len had it last though didn't he? He couldn't remember anymore. "Why the hell do you need something like that anyway?" He asked. Maybe he could reason with the copy.

"I simply desire to be the one who created the greatest being known to man. Or machine if you think about it in technical terms," the Miku 'clone' looked back to his black haired creation. "I'll be like a god."

"Some kind of sick god to a world of ruin," Kaito said shooting the gun again, this time it was more toward Mikuo.

"Complete," Teto said immediately before dashing forward and capturing his bullets from hitting her master. "Zatsune Miku is complete," she said in again in a robotic voice. Eyes still glazed and humming weakly.

Mikuo laughed, but then turned to watch his creation awaken. It started with a slight twitch in her fingertips. Her eye lids moved slightly before slowly opening, revealing a pair of blood red eyes. Zatsune surveyed her surroundings before finally noticing those on the other side of the glass. She froze as she stared at Kaito.

Kaito stared right back, breath hitching a moment as he just watched the girl. Now that she was awake...she was just like Miku. His Miku. Her whole appearance was different and yet it was the exact same. Like a darkened mirror of her. He seemed to forget everything going on around him as he walked forward, reaching out and resting his hand on the glass. "Miku..." He whispered with a pale expression on his face.

Zatsune stood frozen there until something finally registered in her mind. Her eyes widened as she recognized the man who seemed to know her. "Kaito..." she muttered, her lip quivering as she stumbled over to the glass, "Kaito..." she repeated. Her voice was slightly different then the original Miku. It was a higher pitch, but also somewhat scratchy.

Kaito flinched a moment, suddenly remembering it wasn't the same girl. He pulled his hand back as though he'd touched poison or something. He went for his gun, considering aiming at the girl before turning toward Mikuo, "open it!" He shouted with an angry growl. He was shaking and obviously very pissed.

The girl looked crushed as Kaito suddenly pulled away. She looked down at her feet, shaking slightly. Mikuo turned and grinned at Kaito, "What do you plan to do when I open the door, and release what my brethren think of as a weapon of mass destruction?"

"Just do it." Kaito said angry again, cocking the gun once more. "Now!"

Teto frowned looking from the creation to the creator, not sure what she should do.

Mikuo shrugged, "Alright, alright." He shook his head and turned to the keyboard to enter the pass code for the door. Once he pressed enter the door opened automatically. The black haired girl looked up at it, but didn't move an inch toward the opening.

Kaito stayed unchanging a moment before turning and grabbing the girl's arm harshly with one hand while keeping the other on the trigger. "Come on!" He said to Miku before running for the door, pulling her with him.

Teto stared a second before blinking a few times and glancing at Mikuo, "creator, do we pursue?" She asked worried.

The girl let herself be dragged, her eyes wide in fear as he pulled her out. Mikuo smiled at Teto, "Let him take her. This could prove as a good test." He chuckled, watching the Vocaloid leave with his creation. 


	7. Six

"Let's go!" Kaito shouted when he'd run back to the elevator, still dragging the girl with him.

"You brought her back?" Kaiko frowned not sure what to do. "She's the one who will bring about the de-"

"I know that! Just go before he changes his mind!" Kaito said, forcing the girl into the elevator and keeping her close against him. "Go!" He demanded to the others.

Meito looked to Kaiko frowning, but closed the elevator nonetheless. "Alright... If you're sure about bringing her with you..."

"I am," Kaito said without missing a beat, still keeping a firm grip on her.

"Do it then Meito," Kaiko muttered, standing in the elevator, almost glaring at the hand scanner. Meito shook his head as he placed his hand on the scanner, then pressed the button for the first floor, lobby. The black haired girl was silent. She still seemed to be shaking slightly, and refused to look at Kaito.

When the doors opened again and they were in the lobby, Kaito said nothing more as he got out. "We're going home," he said without looking at the others. He pulled the girl again, a little more gently this time. "Thanks," he muttered. Kaiko nodded, looking back at Meito with a worried expression. The whole point was to destroy the girl before she destroyed them but now...

Meito's eyes narrowed. "When she turns on you, don't expect us to be here to back you up." He called after the blue Vocaloid. "Let's get out of here while we can, Kaiko." He said quieter as he made his way out of the elevator. Kaiko nodded, hesitating before slipping out and going for a back room. She wanted to check the others first...

"Don't listen to them," Kaito said running out of the building and into the wreckage. So many bodies littered the outside world. Most of them were machines like them, while others were creatures that once were human-shaped. The girl he pulled along remained silent. She looked down at the bodies that surrounded them. Her red eyes narrowed slightly, as a small grin spread across her face. Her innocent face turning to one that seemed darker, almost psychotic. But the expression was only there a moment before it faded back to the innocent, fearful girl that seemed almost heartbroken.

* * *

Rin just lay on her bedroom floor, not speaking, not eating, hardly even breathing at this point. Her whole body felt numb and though they'd made it back to the base in one piece, she didn't feel the need to be strong. She'd cried once they got back, but now she couldn't even do that anymore. She wasn't sure what the others were doing and she didn't really care.

There was the sound of someone digging though the pantry, a loud crash followed by quiet cursing, then silence for a moment. "Rin!" Meiko called from the main room, "Len! You two get out here! I have a surprise for you two!"

Rin didn't move for a while then slowly rolled over and forced herself up. Literally. She stared at the door for a long time before pushing open the door and going out. "What is it?" She asked clearing her throat and rubbing at her eyes, looking around to see if her brother was out or not.

Len seated himself in his usual spot right next to the fire as Meiko looked to Rin. It looked like she was hiding something behind her back. "Well get out here and I'll show you." An uncharacteristic smile was spread across her face.

Rin hesitated before nodded and inching out of the room and over by the fire. She looked at the other two Vocaloids a moment before sitting down, crossing her legs and waiting.

Meiko waited for the twins to be settled before she began, "So, Miku was planning on saving this for your birthday... But I figured that you two might need it now." She announced as she brought forward a can of preserved oranges. Len's eyes widened, "O-oranges?

"Oranges?" Rin said blinking a few times as she spotted the can. "When...where did those come from?" She asked confused. Last she'd been told, they ran out of anything orange-like long ago; back when Luka and Gakupo were still around even.

"These were put aside when we only had a few left. " Meiko grinned as she pulled out a knife and carefully opened the can. "They were hidden away for a special occasion, and only Kaito and I were told where they were hidden."

"Sneaky," Rin said with a faint smile. Even the sight of the oranges weren't making her feel that much better. "Don't have any bananas would you?" She asked weakly, looking over at her brother. She really wanted him to be better if anything.

"Bananas are harder to preserve." Meiko frowned slightly.

Len glanced to his sister and shook his head, "I think Oranges are just fine! How long has it been since we had an orange?" He grinned over at his sister, trying to make her actually smile and be happy over this small thing. He wasn't in the best shape, but to be happy for even a little while... That'd be great.

"Y...yeah," Rin nodded with a weak smile looking back at the can. "Oranges sound good," she said waiting only a little eagerly. She really wasn't that hungry but if her brother was excited, she could try to be also. "Meiko, hurry up and serve them." She said waiting.

Meiko rolled her eyes "Fine, hold your horses..." She grumbled, losing patience with the emotional twins quickly. The brunette turned back to the pantry and pulled out a large bowl. After wiping away the dust and soot out of the inside she poured the contents of the can in. "Eat up you two!" She said with a forced grin as she placed the bowl before them.

Rin looked down at the oranges, trying so hard to keep her smile plastered on her face as she took one and popped it into her mouth. They were warm and not the best flavored of fruit, but it was the thought that counted right? "These are the best oranges I think I've ever had," the girl lied, taking another orange slice reluctantly into her mouth.

Len watched his sister for a moment before reaching for a piece and biting down on it. The taste was nothing like he remembered how an orange should taste. He even doubted if what they were eating was actually orange, and not some old piece of meat... He grimaced slightly as it slid down his throat. Meiko watched him expectantly, and he nodded, a small smile spreading across his face, "T-they're so good."

Rin nodded, taking another orange a second, only eating about half of it, before leaning back, "thank you Meiko but...I'm really full from breakfast," she said softly. Though if she thought hard about it, she couldn't even remember eating that day. Between the fighting, screaming and crying...when would there have been time?

Len nodded after forcing down a third piece. "Same here. I don't think I could eat another bite." He said with a laugh.

Meiko frowned, "Alright, I guess... I'll just put the rest aside for later, but be sure to eat them." She stated before picking up the bowl and walking back to the pantry with it.

"We will," Rin said half heartedly as she sighed and closed her eyes. "Remember...that time when we..." She started up before dying down shaking her head, "never mind." The girl brought her knees up against her chest, wielding herself not to cry anymore. Everything reminded her of the old days when they were all a happy family. When Miku was alive and before this hell erupted.

"Hey, cheer up!" Meiko exclaimed, kneeling in front of the blonde twins. "When Kaito gets back we're going to be moving to a new place out of this damned city. Things will be better then!" She gave them a half-hearted smile, obviously trying to convince herself that what she was saying was the truth, "I promise."

"Where are we suppose to go?" Rin asked before she could stop herself. "The cities are all in ruins by now."

"Not if you know where to look," someone said from the door as it opened. The blue haired Vocaloid male walked in, not looking the happiest as he entered. He was pretty exhausted from lack of food and sleep, but it was worth it. He was walking now, but still holding the girl tightly. "We have to get out of here before Mikuo figures out what we're planning," he said shaking his head calmly before smiling weakly at the girl, "Miku... Why don't you get something to eat or take a nap. You're probably tired."

"Kaito?" Rin asked looking over at the two, "and...M...Mi...?"

"Miku," Kaito said glaring over at Rin a second. "It's Miku. Just like before..." He let go of the girl at this point looking between all the other Vocaloids. "Who got into the oranges?"

Meiko stared at the girl, dumbfounded, before the anger kicked in. She turned to Kaito, a menacing glare on her face, "what have you done?" She screamed, before glancing back to 'Miku', who still seemed somewhat terrified. "You brought one of that mad-man's creations back here? Are you insane?"

Kaito looked back at the woman, narrowing his eyes a moment, "Meiko. Can I talk to you in the room?" He asked already going for his bedroom area, opening the door and waiting for her to enter. If he was going to do any 'talking' he'd rather do it away from the children. Meiko's brown eyes narrowed right back as she stormed after him, her rage showing on her face. Not only had he left her with the two mourning kids to go get his 'revenge', but then he comes back to their safe home with one of Mikuo's monstrosities? She wasn't about to let Kaito endanger their whole family this way.

"Meiko," Kaito muttered when they'd gone into the room and closed the door. "I know why you're mad but listen, she's...she's Miku. What was I suppose to do? Leave her there with him?" He raised his voice slightly but quickly toned it down, "if she is some kind of ultimate weapon...she's safer being with us than with him."

"That... THING out there is NOT Miku! I'm sorry Kaito, but it's not." Meiko growled, "you were there! You should know just as well as I do, that Miku is dead. It's hard but it's true." Her eyes softened slightly as she pat him on the arm, "I know this is hard for you, because you were so close to her, but that is no excuse to endanger everyone just because you're clinging to the shred of hope that part of Miku is in that thing out there."

Kaito knew she was right. He hated that she was too. He was suppose to be the responsible older brother figure but she was right on this one and he hated her for it. "I know but... Somehow maybe it is her. She's a little different but she still looks like Miku. Still feels like Miku. Her voice is a big rough but that's Miku too."

"That could be part of Mikuo's plan. He's made Clones before, this could just be a plot for him to kill us all!" Meiko crossed her arms, frowning at the blue Vocaloid.

"Yeah," Kaito said quietly, looking away almost shamefully. "Maybe you're right."

Meiko sighed, shaking her head slightly. "But, if you want to keep her around, that's your decision." She stated. "But the moment she tries to destroy us all, I'm going to be the first to say 'I told you so.'"

"She's not going to do anything like that. She might be a little different but she's still our Miku on the inside. I know she is," he lifted a hand up and rubbed at his temples. Again, he knew Meiko was right. He'd been the one to pull back from her when she tried to reach out to him. Why would he have done that if he didn't think that maybe- just maybe- she really would kill them.

"Alright, if you say so." Meiko shook her head, as she turned for the door. "Just try not to get too attached." She grumbled as she opened the makeshift door and left the room.

Kaito nodded, "yeah..." He muttered before following after her. Back in the front room, Rin was just sort of staring at the Miku, not quite sure what to think. Len was doing the same, shocked at the figure who stood before them. There was no way this was Miku... Was it? Wasn't Miku... Dead? The black haired girl glanced from the twins up to the two older Vocaloid who had just entered the room.

"Stop staring you two," Kaito scolded light before looking back at the girl. "Miku, why don't you go take a nap," he offered again. "Or we have some food. Apparently the twins got into their gift early but I don't think they'd mind sharing with you."

Miku looked to Kaito and smiled slightly, "Thank you, but I'm not hungry." She shook her head then sat herself across from the twins, Miku's old spot at the fire.

Rin didn't stop staring for a long time, not sure what to do either. "I'm kind of tired," she said after a while, and stood up going for her room. "Good night everyone," she said and, without waiting for a response, she slipped behind the door. Kaito just shook his head, going over and sitting also.

Len blinked as his sister got up to leave, "So... are you really... Miku? Our Miku?" He asked, his blue eyes wide with shock.

The black haired girl paused, then smiled "Yeah, I guess so. Who else would I be, if I wasn't me?"

"Right," Kaito said with a weak smile of his own as he watched 'Miku'. She seemed like Miku and at the same time, something didn't feel quite right. "We're going to start moving in the morning, so everyone needs a good night sleep."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Meiko shrugged. "Alright, kid" She said bopping Len on the top of his head with her palm, "stop staring at her, and head to bed."

The blonde boy looked up at the brunette and nodded. "A-alright." He smiled slightly as he got up on his feet. "See ya tomorrow, Miku." The black haired girl smiled back and waved.

Kaito watched the boy go feeling a bit better. At least one of them was trying. He looked back at Miku after a while, taking one of the twins' oranges. He swallowed it, then made a face, "ugh. Those are awful."

Meiko looked down at Kaito, her eyes wide in surprise, "What? The twins sa-..." She paused then glared at their closed doors, "those lying little…!"

Miku laughed slightly, "Don't be too hard on them, they're just children."

"Right," Kaito said with another smile. Just like the good old days. "I think I'm going to retire to bed too then. You two don't stay up too late, got it?" He said before getting up.

Meiko waved Kaito away, "Yeah, yeah... Don't you worry about us."

Miku smiled sweetly, "Good Night, Kaito!"

"Night," Kaito said giving the girl one last little smile before going to his room and slipping inside. Everything seemed to be better. She seemed to be like before. So why did he feel so uneasy?

Meiko let out a yawn as she stood up, looking down at the pigtailed figure that sat in Miku's spot. The brunette's eyes narrowed, "well, I'm going to head off to bed... You probably should too..."

Miku looked up and smiled, cocking her head to one side, "I don't think I'm able to." She stated, the smile remaining on her face the entire time.

Meiko hesitated a moment, "'not... able to?' What do you mean by that? Like that you're too nervous to sleep or something?"

Miku shook her head, still smiling. "No, I don't think I'm physically able to sleep anymore. I don't feel tired at all, isn't that odd?" Meiko's eye twitched slightly. This girl was beginning to creep her out... Not able to sleep? "There's something else though." Miku's expression changed from happy to sad instantly, as she looked away from the red Vocaloid.

"W-what is that?" Meiko asked, backing up slightly. The hair on the back of her neck was on end, her muscles were tensed, and something in her brain was telling her to run from the pigtailed girl before her.

"I can't sing anymore either..." She sighed, shaking her head again.

"You... can't... sing?" Meiko muttered, backing up further away.

Miku turned her attention back to her elder 'sister' A terrifying grin spreading across her face, as her red eyes seemed to glow in the light from the coals, "can I have your Voice, big sister Meiko?"


	8. Seven

Kaito was the first one up the next morning. He stretched and yawned as he left his room and looked around the main room. "Oh, you're up," he said spotting the girl still sitting by the fire. "Anyone else awake yet?" He asked looking around. If they were, they weren't out in the main room. "Should we start breakfast then?" He asked without waiting for a reply.

Miku looked up to Kaito, her eyes were full of worry and concern, "Kaito..." She muttered, fumbling with her hands, "M-Meiko went out last night, s-saying that she was going to try t-to find something... I forget what... B-but, she told me... th-that she'd be back within t-the hour... a-and...and..." The girl with the pigtails buried her face in her hands, "I think something might've got her out there! She never came back home!" She cried out, her shoulders shaking.

"What?" Kaito asked, freezing in place before turning and looking at 'Miku'. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked angrily a second before telling himself to calm down. It wasn't the girls fault Meiko was stubborn and high-and-mighty. "Alright. I'm going to go look for her then. Stay here. When the twins wake up-" he paused a moment, "the twins are still in their rooms right?" The last thing he needed was the twins out and about...again.

"I didn't see them leave last night. I was out here waiting for Meiko since she left." Miku nodded, her red eyes seeming to be teary, her face full of worry.

"Alright," he muttered going back for the front door. "Stay here," he repeated as he reached over and grabbed one of his blaster guns. "If the twins wake up before I'm back, just telling them I'm scouting and that they should eat something." Without waiting for the girl to answer he bolted out of the safe house to find their lost friend.

Miku nodded, and waited until he was gone, before she let the dark smile spread across her face. "This is almost too easy. What a gullible dope." She laughed as she pushed herself to her feet. "It'll be a long time until you find her body, and by the time you get back here, it'll be too late."

"Kaito?" Rin asked opening her door cautiously, rubbing her eyes as she looked out. "Oh," she said when she spotted 'Miku' there, "I thought I heard Kaito," she muttered slowly walking over by the fire and slowly sitting; not in her usual spot. A little further off so she was further from the pigtailed girl. "How did you sleep...?"

"Oh, Rin!" Miku smiled at the young blonde girl. "Kaito went out to do some scouting with Meiko. He said he'd be back soon." She nodded at this as she went to the pantry. "Would you like something to eat?"

Rin went to protest but her stomach told her otherwise, "yes please," she said with a sheepish grin. "I guess that's what I get for eating rotten oranges for dinner..." She'd almost forgotten this wasn't their Miku. "What are you going to be make?" She asked suspiciously.

Miku laughed at Rin's statement about the oranges, "yeah, I'm really sorry about that. I don't know what I was thinking when I saved those! I guess I thought they'd still be okay." She sighed as she shook her head. "Well, what would you like to eat?" She turned to smile at the blonde.

"Yeah, what were you thinking?" Rin muttered bitterly under her breath as she looked down. "I don't know what we have left to be honest," she said quietly.

Miku looked into the pantry, "Hm... Looks like we have... A few cans a soup, chili, some olives... and... " She said rustling back in the back part of the pantry, "That looks like it's it..." She frowned slightly, "Oh, well, what sounds good to you?"

"Maybe some soup," Rin said staring at the fire a second before getting up. "I'll go ask Len. Maybe we'll just wait for Kaito and Meiko to get back."

"Kaito said that you two need to eat before he gets back. He's planning on packing up immediately as soon as he gets home, so it'd be better if you two were fed." Miku smiled, as she took out a few cans of soup. "Besides, I know you didn't eat much yesterday, and that's not good for growing children."

"I guess not," Rin said kind of sadly. She even sounded like Miku. "It's just weird. We're finally a family again and now we're split up," she rolled her eyes, going over and knocking on her brother's door. "Len?" She asked peeking in, "time to wake up."

Len rolled over, putting his blanket over his face, "Nmmmmm... Too early..." He groaned before settling back into his bed.

Rin grinned wickedly before running and pouncing on top of her brother, "Len! Wake up!" She shouted sitting on him.

"ARGASAAAH!" Len yelled out in surprise and in pain as he was jumped on, "Guh…why…?" He whined as he was sat on.

"It's time to wake up," Rin said leaning down and poking her brother's forehead. "Kaito and Meiko are already scouting and they want us to eat. Besides," she got a little closer losing her smile a bit, "I don't...want to be out there by myself."

Len's blue eyes narrowed into a groggy glare, "What do you mean you don't want to be out there by yourself?" He grumbled, "Isn't Miku out there too?"

"No," Rin huffed, crossing her arms and looking away stubbornly. "Miku's dead... You know that..." It hurt to say it still but the girl wasn't about to admit that the thing out by the fire was their older sister.

"Then who's out there cooking us breakfast right now?" Len questioned, one of his eyebrows rising.

"It's not Miku," Rin said before getting off him, going back by the door slowly. "It's just...weird. Don't you think?"

"Oh come on, Rin..." Len rolled his eyes as he sat up. "Just because it may not look exactly like her, doesn't mean it's not her! She acts like Miku, she smiles like Miku. I'm pretty sure it's Miku."

"Yeah but... I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right," Rin said looking out past the door, trying to see the other girl.

"I think you're just being paranoid." Len sighed as he brought his covers over his head, "I'm going back to bed..."

Rin frowned, glaring back at her brother before leaving and shutting the door. Might as well leave him alone. He wasn't coming out anytime soon. "Miku," Rin said looking around for the other girl, "Len's still asleep so don't make too much soup right now."

"Aw, that's too bad. He must be being lazy." Miku pouted slightly as she stirred the pot of soup that was sitting in the coals to heat up.

"Yeah probably," Rin said watching 'Miku' a while. "I think we should get ready to go soon though. We'll be moving all day right?"

"I'm not sure what Kaito has planned, or where we're going. So we probably should assume we'll be moving all day." Miku nodded, before going back to the stew, as she began humming a song, eventually breaking into the lyrics, "rolling Girl is at the end of the ruins…" She sang, but it wasn't Miku's voice that made the melody, it was Meiko's.

Rin frowned suddenly, looking over at Miku. "How...?" She whispered as she listened. "Meiko?" She asked confused. Something really didn't feel right now. "That's...a good Meiko imitation..."

Miku frowned and stopped singing, "hmm It just doesn't sound right with Meiko's voice, does it... Her voice just strains when I have to hit those high notes..." She mused to herself as she continued stirring.

Rin just stared a while then took a step back, "yeah... Meiko's not very good at hitting good solid high notes..." She commented looking around, "when did you say the others would be back?"

Miku looked over to Rin, her red eyes watching her closely, before a smile spread across her face. "Kaito should be back soon."

"And Meiko?" Rin asked nervously, finding herself unable to look away from the other girl.

"Mmm, not too sure about Meiko..." Miku shrugged, as she went back to stirring the soup. "I suppose it all depends on if Kaito can find her or not."

"What do you mean?" Rin asked making a fist at her side, inching for her brother's door. "Find her?"

"Well she disappeared last night," Miku looked back to Rin, "so she could come back home in one piece..." A grin spread across her face as her eyes flashed, "Or be strewn across the city in millions…"

"That's not funny," Rin said, something deep her stomach telling her that this girl was more than she appeared. "What...what did you do?"

"Oh, we did a lot of things last night. We talked about how I can't sleep. Then I told her how sad I was that I can't sing either." At this she pouted, and gave a theatrical 'sad' face. "And she offered to give me her beautiful singing voice! Wasn't that nice of her?" Miku grinned at this, seeming delighted.

"You're lying," Rin said, her body slightly shaking. "Where's Meiko?" She asked again, glancing at the front door as though praying Kaito would come at any second.

"Right now?" Miku put on a thoughtful expression, "I'd have to say, that... excluding her voice box of course, half of her is around that button you and your brother found... and the other half... Well... I dunno about the other half... I might've used it as fuel for this morning's fire?"

"You're lying!" Rin screamed right away, "Meiko's not dead!" She was shaking even more now. No. There was no way this- this thing killed their friend!

"Ah-ah-ah, inside voices. You don't want to wake your brother up do you?" Miku smiled sweetly as she continued to stir the soup.

"Yeah right... I'll wake him up and then he'll see the kind of monster you really are," Rin said narrowing her eyes as she turned and went for her brother's door pushing against it.

"Too slow." Miku chirped from right behind her. Somehow she had moved across the room before Rin could even open the door. The black haired girl took Rin's arm and smiled down at her.

Rin's eyes went wide as she whipped her head back to look at the girl with the pigtails. "Let me go!" She shouted trying to push away from the Miku. Cursing herself for not having at least one of her hand guns on her.

"Oh, come on, settle down! It's not like I'm going to hurt you!" Miku pouted before taking Rin's other arm. "Why are you all riled up anyway? It was just Meiko, she was always so mean to you and your brother, always yelling at you! There was a few times I thought she was going to hurt you two, because she got so angry."

"Meiko yells at us because she loves us," Rin said trying to pull back some more. "You wouldn't understand because you're some kind of monster made by that...that psychopath!" She glared again before looking back at the door, "Len!"

Miku sighed, "I was really hoping you'd understand, that you'd just relax and I wouldn't have to kill you. But I guess 'You can't always get what you want'" She grinned down at the girl as she pulled her away from her brother's door with much more force than before.

Rin screamed, still trying to get away but found it to be more difficult than she'd thought. "Len!" She shouted looking back at the door, "Len, wake up!" Now he picked a time to be lazy?

"That's enough of that!" Miku cooed as she pulled both of Rin's hands into one hand, clamping her now free hand over the girl's mouth. "You really are loud! I'm honestly surprised your brother is sleeping through this!" She laughed. Rin screamed louder at that but the noise was muffled so it was almost inaudible. She looked back at 'Miku' with wide eyes, just now realizing how much taller the girl was compared to her own small frame.

She screamed again and tried to get away but this time she didn't even budge. "So how should you die?" Miku asked, thinking it over, "I'm thinking, the way that obviously points out that I did it. This'll be too boring if I'm able to just kill everyone with out even trying, wouldn't it?" She asked the blonde girl

Rin shook her head rapidly trying once more to pull back. Nothing worked. She looked back at the door with pleading, hopefully, eyes. How could Len sleep at a time like this? That useless idiot! The blonde haired girl looked back at the Miku waiting for some kind of chance to get away.

Miku smiled down at the girl, "I have an idea of what I want to do, it's just a matter of where and when…" She stated, "I could kill you now, or I could wait until Kaito gets back home. Which do you think would be better?" Rin shook her head again mumbling something under the girls hand but it only came out as noise. Then she felt herself crying, squeezing her eyes shut to try and stop them from doing so. She was stronger than that. She always had been. When the end began she only tried once and told herself never again. Miku's death... Now this. She hiccupped against the Miku not fighting as much anymore.

Miku blinked as she saw the young girl begin crying. Something clicked in her head, and she looked down, away from the crying girl in her arms. "I'm really sorry Rin." She stated, in a voice that seemed more like the old Miku, "I'm sorry I put you through all this, and I'm sorry it has to end this way. I don't have... It'll be better after this. When you go, you'll never have to see this horrible place ever again." The black haired girl nodded, before her eyes focused, and the grin spread across her face again, "Giving up already? Aw, that's no fun! I guess I'll just have to make this quick then-!"

Rin's eyes went wide as she jerked back but didn't really go far. It was enough distance for a bullet to shoot between the two and hit the wall beside them. "Drop her Zatsune!" Kaito shouted from the front door, the shot gun in his hand was smoking from the discarded bullet and he did not look very happy. "Now!"

"Kaito! You came home earlier than I thought you would! I'm guessing I didn't hide Meiko as well as I thought I did, huh?" Zatsune Miku smiled, not moving, and keeping her hold on the small blonde girl. "Either that or you're smarter than I thought you were…"

"Meiko wouldn't have gone out on her own," Kaito glared, angry at himself for being so stupid and gulible. "Even if she had, she wouldn't have left her usual weapons, and she would have told me before she'd leave anyway." Meiko was generally smart about not going out on her own. One of the reasons she was hard on the twins when ever they ran off. "Now I said to put her down!"

"Oooo" Zatsune cooed, seeming impressed, "I didn't even think of that! Good job, Kaito! Too bad you're still too late to save Meiko, and Rin." The black haired girl smiled as she moved her hand off of Rin's mouth, and pulling a small hand gun from the holster at her thigh, and putting it to the blonde girl's head, "would you two like to say goodbye to each other? This'll be your last chance…"

The second the Miku's hand was off her mouth Rin let out a terrified scream, trying to pull back once more. She tried to kick but fell short. "Don't do it!" Kaito shouted as he held his gun back up. He knew he wouldn't be able to shoot. Not her. It didn't matter what she was doing, he still couldn't bring himself to do it. "I won't let you kill anyone else!"

There was a crash from Len's room, as he fell out of his bed, rushing to get to his door. "Len!" Rin screamed when she thought she heard her brother, jerking back from the girl as much as she could, "get out of here!"

Zatsune smiled at Kaito, ignoring the twins for the moment, "and what will you do? I can tell you're not going to pull that trigger. Because I'm so kind, I'll give you one last chance to say goodbye to your friend here…" She cooed as she clicked the safety off the gun.

"I'm not going to say goodbye because you're not going to touch her!" Kaito shouted holding then gun as steady as he could. His whole body was shaking. He knew she was right but he had to do something. Anything!

"Your loss." Zatsune shrugged as Len finally managed to open his door.

"What's going on in h-?" He stopped as Miku pulled the trigger on the gun.

"No!" Kaito shouted as the shot rang out. Rin didn't even have time to react as the bullet hit and she fell limp against the girl. Kaito was shaking even more now as he watched the blood soak into the child's hair, staining it a crimson red color. "Len, run!" He managed to choke out as he shot the gun, still missing the Miku.

Len's eyes widened as his sister fell against Miku. "Rin!" He screamed out, as Miku released the blonde, letting her body fall to the floor.

Zatsune didn't even flinch as the bullet from Kaito's gun flew by her, she simply looked up from the dead girl at her feet and grinned at Kaito, a sense of victory in her eyes. "That's two…"

Kaito just stared back at her for a long time, feeling truly frightened a moment before he tossed the gun on the floor and ran towards the boy. "Len, move!" He shouted as he grabbed the boys arm and went for the door. He had to get them to safety. Any place but here. The air outside was thick and heavy with a morning fog, making it hard to find their way around the rubble.

Zatsune's laughter was heard as the two males fled from their home. Len was struggling against Kaito as he fled from the place that they had called home, the place that had been their shelter, safe from the dangers of the outside world. The boy screamed as they ran, "we can't leave Rin! K-Kaito! We can't just... we... can't... just...!"

"Len!" Kaito shouted back as he kept running, making sure the boy followed, "we can't go back there! She'll try and kill you too! She's already gotten Meiko and now Rin. I'm not going to let her get you too, understand?" He was desperate now, not sure where they could go. Anywhere was better than staying in their hide out. Len gave up struggling and just let himself get pulled along by the older man. Occasionally small whimpering sounds could be heard from the boy.

Kaito stopped after a while, crouching down and pulling the boy along side him. He glanced around a moment before sighing and looking back at Len, putting a hand on his shoulder as though to comfort him. "Len... I'm sorry. We need to focus on getting as far away from Miku as possible right now. I need you to be strong."

Len looked up at the blue haired man, before slowly nodded, and wiping away the tears that remained on his face. "Alright..." He mumbled, still shaking from the shock.

"Good," Kaito said with a weak smile before looking again. No sign of her so far. "I left my blaster around here," he explained, "I'm going to grab it real quick. I want you to stay right here and don't move. When I get back, we'll make a run for the nearest city. Got it?"

Len nodded as he sunk down into a sitting position, "I'll... stay here." He said, in a monotonous tone, his eyes seemed dull, and almost hopeless, as he curled up, hugging his knees.

Kaito nodded, hesitating before he wandered off. He'd left the blaster behind because it was a tad bulky and after what he'd seen he needed to just get back to the shelter in a hurry. He found it soon though, off to the side and next to a familiar body. Or... Some of it anyway. "Meiko," he muttered, eyes glazing a bit as he looked at the body, then over at the blaster. "I'm sorry," he said sadly as he picked up the gun and swung it over his shoulder to carry it better. "I guess... You were right," he said with a pathetic smile. "You usually were..." He said slowly heading back to where he'd left Len. He felt numb and just wanted to curl up somewhere and hide but he couldn't. Not when there was still one life left to protect.

Len was seated the same was as when Kaito had left him there, moments before. His shaking seemed to have stopped, along with his tears. Now he sat, eyes glazed over, staring at something in the distance. "I found it," Kaito said walking over to the boy and sitting down. "Ready to go?" He asked with a weak smile looking off, "what are you looking at hm?" He asked in a playful voice. "Come on," he said grabbing the boy's arm gently and beckoning him up.

Len looked up at his companion, his blue eyes seeming hollow. He allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet, "Where are we going?" He asked as he brushed the dust away from his shirt and shorts. "Where is there to go anyway..." He muttered, almost inaudible.

"We'll go to the next city," Kaito said looking forward, "like we planned to before." Back when the girls were still alive and Miku wasn't out to kill them. "We'll start a new life and leave this hell behind."

"And what if that city is just like this place?" Len asked quietly looking down at the rubble underneath his feet. Tapping a small piece with the toe of his shoe. "What if it's even worse off there than it is here?"

"Then we'll move on... The Robo-Loids aren't after us anymore and I don't think Mikuo's going to send any others after us any time soon. Not since he thinks Miku will finish us off," he trailed off a bit as he started to move. "There has to be somewhere we can live."

"You underestimate her…" A voice rang out from behind the rubble. Len jumped somewhat, moving closer to Kaito, and looking around for the source. "Zatsune will continue following you until you're all dead. That's what she was created to do." Teal hair appeared from behind one of the large hills of debris, as Mikuo Hatsune climbed to the top.

"Mikuo," Kaito frowned, holding tightly to the blaster just in case. "What the hell are you doing here?" He asked stepping between the teal haired man and the child. "Thought you would stay in your stupid tower and wait for your 'precious creation' to come home."

"Are you kidding? Why would I pass up the chance to watch you all get decimated by your beloved 'Miku'?" Mikuo laughed out, before stopping and examining the group, "Hmm, you're missing two already? She's a lot quicker than I thought she'd be."

"Shut up," Kaito growled aiming the gun toward Mikuo, "I may have hesitated to shoot at Miku but I won't miss you." He threatened standing firm. "Len, let's go," he tried again, urging the boy to start moving while he kept a watchful eye on the clone.

"Woah, woah, woah..." Mikuo backed up a step, putting his hands up defensively. "I'm not the enemy here!... Well... I am... But there's no use wasting your bullets on me, because I'm not here to kill you, or even hurt you. I'm here simply to observe."

"Then you can observe us leaving," Kaito said shaking his head and going after Len, "she's back at the base. We lost her a little while ago but you're free to go looking for her if you want."

"Are you sure she's still back there?" Mikuo asked, crossing his arms and smiling, "She could be hiding anywhere around here, just waiting for a chance to pick you off one-by-one."

Mikuo was probably right, Kaito decided, but he wasn't about to scare the blonde haired boy. "That's what the blaster is for," he said simply and went on ahead. "We'll keep going until the fog is lifted, then we'll hide until dark," he told the boy, trying to ignore Mikuo for now.

Len looked up at the blue haired man, his eyes hazed over, as if he didn't really see Kaito standing in front of him. Mikuo laughed, "Good luck with that! I'll keep an eye on you, so you'll probably see me again!"

"Don't count on it," Kaito muttered angrily as he continued to lead Len along. He wasn't about to do anything drastic. Sure, he'd LOVE to use that blaster on the clone. He'd LOVE to see him blow to pieces. But he didn't want to try and do anything, especially with the child with him. "Are you hungry?" He asked quietly. "I could go for something right about now myself," he tried to laugh but it came out forced and dry.

Len shook his head slowly from side to side as he followed obediently behind. "I'm... not hungry." He muttered quietly, watching his feet as he moved.

Kaito opened his mouth to ask the boy what was wrong but he knew what was wrong. He knew how he felt. Len had already watched Miku shoot herself. Now to see the Miku girl turn around and shoot his sister in the same way... He had a right to be freaked out. "Things will get better," he lied automatically.

Len looked up at Kaito with his once bright blue eyes, now dull. "You don't need to lie to me." He stated before walking past the older blue Vocaloid. "I know better than that... It'll only get worse, there's no turning back..."

"Len," Kaito frowned watching the boy walk on head. What else could he say? Miku was the voice of reason, not him. Even Meiko had her moments, but him? Nothing. "Listen, I know it sucks but...we can get through this. We all... They knew the risks. Being out here. Everything is dangerous out here. We knew it might happen."

Len shook his head and continued on. "We won't be able to go on without them. We have no food, and the only thing to defend us is your weapons, and who knows what will happen after you run out of bullets."

"I'm sure there's a lot of ammunition in the next city. We can settle there long enough to eat, gather supplies and then move on." He rubbed the back of his neck, "we'll be okay."

"Right." Len muttered, refusing to look at the blue haired man.


	9. Eight

"I have an idea," Kaito suggested half heartedly, "why don't we sing something to pass the time?"

Len didn't even turn to look at the older Vocaloid when he spoke, "What would we sing?" He asked in a monotonous tone. It was quite clear that he wasn't in the mood to sing. He'd probably never be in the mood to sing. Singing just reminded him of Miku, and his sister.

"I know Gakupo isn't here," Kaito said with a weak and pathetic smile, "but how about Imitation Black? You use to enjoy that one right?"

Len was quiet for a minute as he seemed to think it over, "No." He finally answered, shaking his head.

"No?" Kaito asked as though he hadn't seen the answer coming, "well then... How about something else? World is mine is easy to sing. We could try that one." Len twitched slightly, before shaking his head side to side again. That song reminded him of Miku, and that was one of the last things he wanted to think about today. "Then why don't you just sing something for me to listen to?" The boy was a better singer anywhere, as much as he hated to admit it. "How about the reprise version of Kokoro? I know that was one of your favorites."

That one was even worse. that was supposed to be a song he sang with his sister... Who was now dead? "I... don't feel like singing." He admitted.

"Alright," Kaito said after a while. True be, he didn't feel like singing either. "I bet we can find some new clothes in the next city too." Len decided at this point just to ignore Kaito's voice. What did it matter? Everything he was spouting out was weak and pathetic attempts to start a conversation with the boy, and that wasn't happening. He simply nodded in response to Kaito, but continued walking. Kaito went quiet after that, there really was no point in continuing.

After a long time of traveling in silence, they came to some kind town or smaller part of the city or something similar. "We can stop here," Kaito said kicking at a rock. "We left before eating...you hungry?"

The blonde boy hesitated a moment before shaking his head. Who would be hungry after experiencing what he had gone through in the past 24 hours. "I'm fine." He stated in a monotonous voice.

Kaito frowned as he watched the blond boy. This was terrible. He sighed and hesitantly looked for some kind of sign of shelter. "Looks like there's a good sized building over there," he said pointing to what looked like a hospital or office building. It was blown and torn but at least had walls still standing. "We can get some rest."

Len looked over in the direction that Kaito had pointed, and nodded in approval. But the way his eyes were almost glazed over it almost seemed as though he wasn't really seeing it. The boy was just following the motions needed. To be honest he really didn't see the reasoning for finding somewhere to go. Everything they had loved and wanted to protect was now gone... Why not follow them?

"We might be able to find some food, just in case," Kaito added as he headed for the building. He was only half way there when he thought he smelled something... Was it ash? Smolder of some kind? He wasn't sure. All of a sudden though, he didn't feel so sure about this. "Let's hurry," he said without looking back at the boy. "I have a bad feeling..."

Len followed along after the blue haired man, it wasn't like he really had a choice. He was about to comment on Kaito's unsure feeling about where they were going when he stopped in his tracks. Something had caught his eye. For the first time since his sister's murder he showed some sort of emotion other than indifference. This emotion was horror. "K-k-Kaito!" He yelped as he backed away, pointing at what had startled him. Not far from where they stood was a pile of what seemed like ripped apart Robo-Loids. Mixed among these remains were the bodies of some of the Utau from Mikuo's building. But this wasn't what scared the young boy. In the middle of this arrangement was a head with short, messy teal hair covering it's eyes. Was that... Mikuo?

Kaito stopped dead his tracks as he stared at the pile. His eyes were wide and face had gone pale. It couldn't be him! How could it? Mikuo was... How could he... "Shit," Kaito hissed before he could stop. He jerked his head back around toward Len. "Len," he shouted as he held up his gun. It was weak but... He had to do something. "Get out of sight."

Len took another step back. He couldn't take his eyes away from the horrible sight. "K-kaito... Is he dead?" the boy asked, looking to the older man for some sort of answer before looking back to the head. "D-did Miku do this too?" He almost sobbed this question, remembering what that black haired... monster had done to the rest of their family.

"Len," Kaito growled, "go to the building I pointed out. Now." He didn't have time to play games. He had to get Len out of there. If Miku had done it, which was a huge possibility, she couldn't have gone far. He had to find her before she found them.

"Actually I haven't gone anywhere." A calm voice stated from behind the two males. Len spun around, his blue eyes wide with fear at the sight of the red eyed girl smiling at them. There were blood splatters on her face, and her hands were coated with the stuff. "Do you like my creator's burial site? I think it's quite tasteful."

Kaito glared at the girl, rushing forward and grabbing hold of Len, jerking him back behind him. "Miku," he said trying to stay calm enough. "You... What do you want?" He asked somewhat confused. What could she possibly want with them? She was just killing everything and everyone.

Zatsune tilted her head to the side slightly, looking almost thoughtful as she looked at the two. "Well I had just finished making my beautiful arrangement over there," She gestured to the pile of bodies, "And was on my merry way when I heard you!" She stated with a grin, "I didn't expect you to find Mikuo so soon, but I bet you're very happy, Kaito-nii. The man who started it all is finally dead"

"That's great," Kaito said though he obviously wasn't pleased. "He deserved it," it was true but...it felt wrong to actually say it. He hesitated, swallowing the lump in his throat before speaking again, "so...what was the point in killing the others. Meiko and Rin. What did they do."

"I was just doing them a favor." Zatsune admitted with an innocent look in her eyes. She brought up her right hand and began to examine the blood that covered it. "It wasn't a secret that they both wanted to get away from this life. I simply granted their wish."

"Not like that!" Kaito shouted before he could help himself. "They wanted to get away but not like that. They wanted a better life. They wanted to be free. They wanted to get go back to the way things were!"

"But they also knew that things would never be the same." Zatsune answered before crossing her arms. "Even the happiest of your little family, Miku herself often thought of taking her own life to free her from this hell. The others were no different, including the boy you're trying so desperately to keep alive." The black haired girl pointed to Len who was hiding behind Kaito, "Without his other half there's no more meaning for him. I almost feel bad for him with all thr suffering you're making him go through by forcing him to stay alive."

"You're wrong," Kaito said angrily. There was no way Miku- HIS Miku- would think of ending her life. No matter how bad things got. She would never do that. Then he glanced back at Len. "No," he said simply, searching through Len's eyes trying to find something. Anything to prove he was the some old Len. She was right though on that... He wasn't the same without Rin. He turned back to Zatsune, heart aching. "We'll stay alive for them," he said softly. "You'll leave or I'll be forced to..." To what? Shoot her? Stab her? Kill her? He didn't even know.

"I'm wrong?" Zatsune asked before bursting into a fit of laughter, "I'M. wrong. That's hilarious!" She giggled before grinning back at Kaito, "Did you forget that somewhere within me, Miku still resides? I have the data from her mind right up here." The black haired girl tapped on her own head. "So I'm pretty sure that I have my facts straight when I say what she used to think, if you want me to prove it, I can tell you what she thought about you." A dark grin spread on her face as she stood over the two. Len looked up to Kaito, his eyes wide with fear, but also somehow hollow. The blue eyes narrowed as he thought over what Zatsune had said... She was right about him wanting to go... Was it the best choice?

"Shut up!" Kaito shouted unable to stand it. She was playing mind games. She was a failed experiment. She wasn't Miku. Miku wouldn't do this to them. No matter what, she was always the voice of reason. She was their Miku. "Just leave us alone," he said holding out the gun and aiming it at her, clicking the safety off.

Zatsune spread her arms out as if to greet the potential oncoming bullet in open arms. "Do you really have the courage to shoot your beloved Miku?" She asked before her voice changed to Miku's voice exactly, "Kaito-nii?" Her red eyes widened slightly to give her a more innocent, Miku like look as she stated down at him.

Kaito flinched and dropped his guard as he stared back at her, lowering the gun just enough. It was his Miku. He knew that voice anywhere. Those eyes too... They were red and suppose to be evil but... "Miku."

Zatsune gave him a Miku like smile before the grin darkened and warped into a sadistic grin. She disappeared from where she had been standing. There was silence until a cry was heard from behind the man. Kaito didn't even realize what happened until he heard the little noise. Quickly, he spun back around to see what it was. Behind him stood Zatsune, a smile on her face as she held up a limp Len. "What a good boy, he went faster than his sister did." She stated fondly before she set the boy down on the ground and stood back up to grin at Kaito. "You're too soft, and look what your poor reactions have done." She gestured down at the body at her feet. "You should've taken the shot, Kaito-nii."

Kaito was shaking so bad and yet he couldn't feel his body. Everything was numb and he could hardly breathe. "You killed him," he said in disbelief. She was faster than he thought. He didn't even have time to blink. Again, she was right. He was soft. He should have shot.

"I simply gave him what he wanted." She said looking down at the boy, a twinge of sadness in her red eyes. "He couldn't have lived on without Rin for long. It was either he went quickly and quietly, or he would take his own life with one of those weapons you gave him." She stated before closing her eyes and grinning back up at Kaito, all remorse gone from her face, leaving only a twisted grin.

"So what now?" Kaito asked just staring for a long time, then slowly went back to narrowing his eyes. "You're going to kill me and... and what?"

"Hm..." Zatsune thought it over for a moment, "You know, after killing you I'm not sure what I'll do." She giggled before reaching down to her hip where one of Miku's old guns had been holstered. "Probably just track down anything else that's still moving and release it from this hell like I did your family." She stated before pointing the weapon at Kaito.

That was enough for Kaito. He took a quick step back to get a look at the scenery. The entire playing field was leveled and full of rot. He had no where to go and no one to protect but he still felt the need to survive. With another quick step back, he lashed out. He closed his eyes and he ran passed the girl and squeezed them tighter when he ran passed Len. He reopened his eyes after a moment but just kept running. He threw down the gun at some point and went for...anything! He just had to get away from that monster. He heard himself panting as he bolted through the rubble, eventually finding some kind of remain of a brick wall. He fell down and leaned against it, panting and trying to clam himself down. He had nothing now...

Zatsune turned and watched with a grin as Kaito ran past her. Too afraid to shoot his beloved Miku, and yet too afraid to die even though he had nothing more to live for. It was pathetic and sad. She couldn't help but laugh. She followed after him at a slow pace, her grin on her face as she followed him. "Come on Kai-" Her voice glitched and faltered for a moment as her eye twitched. She paused, looking down at her hands, flexing them. Was she malfunctioning? Couldn't be... she was the ultimate being...

Kaito stayed where he was for a long time trying to think of some kind of plan. Nothing was coming to mind. "Can't...let her win..." He said between shallow breaths as he reached to his holster. He cursed when he found it was empty. He'd given it to Len hadn't he? He'd tossed his other gun somewhere back there. He cursed again and looked back at where his discarded weapon lay. If he could get a hold of it...maybe he could come up with a better plan. Not that it mattered. He wouldn't shoot either way.

Zatsune shook her head as she felt this odd buzzing within it. What was going on? It was like every time she was about to go after the now defenseless man something within her would stop her. "WhAtz... wR0nG WiTH m3ee..." She muttered... her voice cracking and going into different pitches.

Kaito listened with curiosity, measuring out the distance between the girl and his gun. If he played it just right... "Now," he urged himself before jumping out of his hiding spot, running for the gun but keeping his eyes glued on the girl.

Zatsune looked up at Kaito as he stared at her. One of her eyes seemed to change from the other, which gave her this really odd expression. There was one evil eye that wanted nothing more than to kill the man before her, but the other was gentler, and seemed to be struggling to maintain itself. "kA1t0." A voice struggled out from the frame as one of the hands shakily aimed its weapon at the blue

Kaito grunted, flinching as he approached closer. There was that guilty feeling again but something told him to keep going. He shouted out when he was close enough, sliding and reaching out to catch the gun. He had to be faster though because the girl already had her weapon out and aimed on him. With one fast click he switched the safety back off for the millionth time and froze, aiming it towards her. His eyes narrowed dangerously as a quiet wind picked up around his cloak a moment. Then everything was still.

Zatsune closed her eyes for a moment, as if she was in pain. When she opened them again, Miku's eyes smiled weakly at the blue haired man. The two hands were still struggling between wanting to aim the gun at him and pushing it down and away, but her face was serene and calm. "K-Kaito." She said again, her voice clear, "You need... t-t-to kill me." She stated shakily, her voice glitching and faltering much like Zatsune's had before.

"I know," Kaito said not changing his facial expression for a moment. No. His entire body didn't move. Like everything was frozen in time. He sucked in a harsh breath knowing he couldn't do it. He closed his eyes slowly keeping the gun held high as he opened his mouth, "the number one princess in the whole world..." he whispered softly.

Miku smiled as she shakily pushed the hand with the gun down, and eventually pried her fingers away from the weapon, allowing it to drop to the ground beside her. She then closed her eyes, a warm smile on her face as she allowed her still shaking hands fall to her sides. "Thank you, my beloved prince."

Kaito couldn't help it when he felt tears streaming down his face. "You want something...?" He whispered some more putting his finger on the trigger. "Okay..." He opened his eyes again only to stare into hers. Everything vanished around them. There was nothing else but them two. The way he'd always wanted. "Just give me a minute," he said a little louder before closing his eyes again. "Just give me a minute..." He repeated, choking on his words as he pulled the trigger. There was a single shot that rang out and made him stumble back some. "I'll be there," he sobbed before opening his eyes again.

"I'm... so...rry..." Her voice trailed off as the systems began shutting down and she fell backwards, collapsing to the ground. As the final system shut down so did her eyes, leaving her with a content smile as she finally died there on the ground. Ridding the world of the dangerous killer.

Kaito just stared at what he'd done. His breath caught again as he watched her fall, watched her stop. Watched her die. When the wind picked up again and he knew she really was gone, he stumbled to his feet and made his way over. It was one cautious step after another until he was running for the girl. He heard nothing but the sound of his sobbing as he fell to his knees and looked at what he'd done. Hiccups came from his mouth as he stared at her. New body or not, she was still his Miku. He tried to speak but nothing was coming out right. He closed his eyes again, clenching a fist and digging it against the dirt.

"My number one princess in the whole world..." He cried lifting his hands to his face. He heard himself crying louder but he couldn't bring himself to cease the song. "I'll always watch you so you don't wander off," he said as he opened his eyes again and looked around. There was the gun she'd dropped... He tossed his own weapon aside and reached for it, pulling it close against his body. "And sometimes... I'll try to grab you gently..." He said letting one hand hold the gun's trigger while the other found the girls' hand. He held onto her, giving a light squeeze of comfort. He wasn't sure if it was suppose to be comfort to him or her though.

"'Be more careful.'" He said with the weakest of smiles. "...but... it's a little embarrassing..." He said putting his finger against the trigger tightly. "But I know that..." He closed his eyes one last time, still holding the girls' hand. "You're head over heels for me...!" He sang loudly before he pulled the trigger. Another shot rang out. The wind heard his cry and picked up only a moment as his body dropped besides Miku. He said nothing more. He couldn't. With the last bit of strength he possessed, he smiled and held the girl close. One faint breath escaped his lips and then...

Nothing.


	10. Epilogue

"Shit," a voice said when they saw the two fallen Vocaloids. The girl lifted her hands to her hood and pulled it down, letting her cropped green hair fall out. "We were too late..." She said with a weak sigh before readjusting her goggles. "Miki!" She called to someone over her shoulder. "They're over here!"

There was the sound of running footsteps as a redheaded girl rushed to her companion's side. She frowned, her eyes narrowing in sadness as she knelt beside the two now deceased Vocaloids. "They're already gone..." She muttered before closing her eyes and giving the two a silent prayer. Once that was done she looked up to the green haired girl, "Now what, Gumi?"

"Guess we head back to the others," Gumi muttered shaking her head. "They'll worry if we take too long..." She looked back down at the two fallen comrades feeling a sad remorse for them. "We couldn't save them. I figured that they would have out lasted us. Being the first ones and all."

Miki nodded as she stood up, brushing the dirt and dust away from her clothing. "It's a shame, but at least now they seem happy" She stated noting the smiling expression on the girl with the pigtails face, and the way the blue haired man was holding her close to him. "I'm glad they've found some sort of happy ending together." She nodded before turning to return from where she had come from.

"Yeah," Gumi nodded with a weak of her own, "me too." She said before pulling her hood back on, turning and walking away.

* * *

There you have it everyone! After a while of procrastinating and what have you, Emily and I finally finished Aftermath.

I hope you enjoyed it.

And remember... If you want to flame it or whatever, you can do so but keep in mind this wasn't even suppose to be a fic. It was just two friends role playing to pass the time who posted it for some friends. There are many typos and grammar errors along with plot holes and what not so...if you're going to complain about those. It's fine.

We weren't out for perfect. Just for fun.

See you in the next one

- Kori


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